'.'■*;  -*■'  ■  "' 

JLAST  DISCOURSES 

0/  OUR  LORD 

IVesidiiigs  for  every 

Day  of  Lent 

■n 

" 

Dt.  a.  G.  MORTIMER. 

• 

{^ 


LIBRARY  OF  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 

PRINCETON.  N.  J. 


PRESENTED   BY 


The  Estate  of  Rev.  Robert  Williams 

Scct,on_._...._8,.rAS8 


I    \Vi 


ll\'„ 


TLhc  Xast  Discourses  ot  our  Xorb* 


THE  LAST  DISCOURSES 
OF  OUR  LORD.; 


ARRANGED   AS 

READINGS  FOR  THE  FORTY  DAYS  OF  LENT. 


BY   THE    REV. 

ALFRED  G.  MORTIMER,  D.D., 

RECTOR  OF  S.    MARK'S,    PHILADELPHIA. 

AUTHOR  OF    "HELPS   TO   MEDITATION,"    "LENTEN    PREACHING," 
"THE    CHURCH'S    LESSONS    FOR    THE    CHRISTIAN    YEAR,"     ETC. 


THOMAS    WHITTAKER, 

2  AND  3,  Bible  House. 
1905. 


TO 

THE    RIGHT    REVEREND 

OZI    WILLIAM    WHITAKER,   D.D.,   LL.D., 

BISHOP    OF    PENNSYLVANIA, 
IN    MEMORY    OF    TWELVE    YEARS    WORK 

IN    HIS    DIOCESE, 

THIS    LITTLE    VOLUME    IS    INSCRIBED 

WITH    AFFECTIONATE    RESPECT. 


Conttnte. 


£ent. 


PAGE 


I.— THE   DEPARTURE  OF  JUDAS  i 

S.  John  xiii.  31,  32. 

2.— THE   NEW   COMMANDMENT 10 

S.  John  xiii.  33-35. 

3.— THE   QUESTION   OF    S.    PETER       19 

S.  John  xiii.  36-38. 

4.— THE  TRAINING   OF   S.    PETER       27 

S.  John  xiii.  38. 

5.— THE  MANY  MANSIONS  OF  THE  FATHER'S 

HOUSE       33 

S.  John  xiv.   1-3. 

6.— THE   QUESTION  OF   S.    THOMAS 41 

S.  John  xiv.  4-6. 

7.— CHRIST   AS  THE   WAY 50 

S.  John  xiv,  6. 

8. -CHRIST   AS   THE   TRUTH       56 

S.  John  xiv.  6. 

g.— CHRIST  AS  THE    LIFE 64 

S.  John  xiv.  6. 

vii. 


&tnt 


I'AGE 


10.— S.    PHILIP'S  REQUEST 72 

S.  John  xiv.  7-11. 

II.— CHRIST'S    ANSWER   TO   S.    PHILIP         ...       80 
S.  John  xiv.   10-14. 

12.— THE    POWER   OF   CHRISTIAN    PRAYER  87 

S.  John  xiv.   13,  14. 

13. -LOVE 94 

S.  John  xiv.  15. 

14.— THE   COMFORTER         104 

S.  John  xiv.  16. 

15.— THE   SPIRIT   OF   TRUTH       iii 

S.  John  xiv.   16,  17. 

16.— CHRIST'S    COMING    THROUGH    THE 

HOLY  GHOST 119 

S.  John  xiv.  18-20. 

17.— THE   QUESTION    OF   S.   JUDE        127 

S.  John  xiv.  22-24. 

18.— CHRIST'S   LEGACY   TO    HIS   DISCIPLES      135 
S.  John  xiv.  25-27. 

19.— UNSELFISH    SORROW 143 

S.  John  xiv.  28-31. 

20.— CHRIST  THE  VINE       151 

S.  John  xv.   i. 

21.— THE  VINE   AND    THE    BRANCHES  ...     160 

S.  John  xv.  2,  3. 

viii. 


Contentg.  ^^ 
Btnt 

PAGE 

22.— THE  FRUITS  OF  UNION  WITH  CHRIST      i68 
S.  John  xv.  4,  5. 

23.— THE    RESULT    OF    SEPARATION    FROM 

CHRIST      176 

S.  John  xv.  6-10. 

24.— THE  JOY  OF  UNION  WITH  CHRIST       ...     184 

S.  John  xv.  ii. 

25.— THE   FRIENDS   OF   CHRIST 191 

S.  John  xv.   12-15. 

26.— THE   LAW   OF  VOCATION      200 

S.  John  xv.   16. 

27.— THE   WORLD'S    HATRED       210 

S.  John  xv.   17-21. 

28.— THE   WORLD'S   IGNORANCE  218 

S.  John  xv.  21-25. 

2g.— THE  ADVOCATE  AS  CHRIST'S  WITNESS     225 

S.  John  xv.  26,  27. 

30.— PERSECUTION    THE    RESULT    OF    THE 

WORLD'S   HATRED     233 

S.  John  xvi.   1-4. 

31. -THE     EXPEDIENCY     OF     UNPLEASANT 

TRUTHS 239 

S.  John  xvi.  4-7. 

32.— THE    HOLY   GHOST   AND    SIN        246 

S.  John  xvi.  7,  8. 

ix. 


Btnt 

PAGE 

33.— THE    HOLY    GHOST   AND    RIGHTEOUS- 
NESS   253 

S.  John  xvi.  8,   10. 

34.— THE   HOLY   GHOST   AND  JUDGMENT  ...     259 
S.  John  xvi.  8  and  ii. 

35.— THE   HOLY   GHOST   OUR  GUIDE 267 

S.  John  xvi.  12-15. 

36.— NATURAL  AND   SPIRITUAL   SIGHT        ...     277 
S.  John  xvi.  16-19. 

37.— SORROW   TURNED    INTO   JOY        284 

S.  John  xvi.  20-33. 

38.— THE    FATHER   AND   THE    SON      293 

S.  John  xvii.  1-5. 

39.— THE    SON    AND   THE    DISCIPLES 304 

S.  John  xvii.  6-19. 

40.— THE    SON    AND    THE    CHURCH      314 

S.  John  xvii.  20-26. 


X. 


(preface. 


Among  the  most  sublime  utterances  of  our  Blessed 
Lord,  would  be  placed,  by  the  majority  of  Christians, 
His  last  Discourses.  These  were  delivered  partly 
in  the  Upper  Chamber  in  Jerusalem  and  partly  in 
some  place  on  the  way  to  Gethsemane.  They 
are  recorded  by  S.  John  in  his  Gospel,  and  are 
addressed  to  the  eleven  faithful  apostles,  and  they 
constitute  at  once  Christ's  farewell  and  His  final 
revelation  to  them. 

The  pathetic  occasion  on  which  they  were  spoken, 
and  the  sublime  character  of  the  subjects  of  which 
they  treat,  endow  these  Discourses  with  a  profound 
and  unique  interest  for  every  Christian,  and  yet 
they  rarely  form  the  subject  of  addresses,  and 
among  our  devotional  works  I  know  of  only  one 
in  which  they  are  treated  with  any  fulness,  namely, 
"  The  Upper  Chamber,"  by  the  Rev.  Father  Bensoni 


XI. 


'^  (preface. 


S.SJ.E.,  which  forms  two  volumes  of  the  series 
entitled  "  The  Final  Passover."  I  read  carefully 
the  other  volumes  of  this  Series  some  ten  years 
ago,  but  omitted  these  two,  intending  to  take  them 
up  on  another  occasion.  I,  however,  forgot  them 
until  my  attention  was  called  to  them  a  few  weeks 
ago,  after  this  book  was  in  the  printer's  hands. 
I  regret,  therefore,  that  I  have  not  had  the 
advantage  of  consulting  them. 

I  am  acquainted  with  many  Commentaries,  and 
the  best  known  works  on  the  Passion,  but  the 
only  one  which  I  have  used  with  any  frequency 
in  this  book  is  Bishop  Westcott's  Commentary  on 
S.  John  ;  and  my  indebtedness  to  this,  as  to  other 
works  of  the  same  author,  is  very  great  indeed. 

These  addresses  were  originally  given  as  Medita- 
tions in  S.  Mark's,  Philadelphia,  last  Lent.  They 
were  taken  down  as  delivered  by  a  stenographer, 
from  whose  notes  they  are  reproduced.  1  have, 
however,  rearranged  them  in  forty  portions,  so  as  to 
furnish  devotional  readings  or  subjects  for  medita- 
tion  for  the  forty  days  of  Lent. 

I  have  drawn  attention  to  the  most  important 
variations     in      the    text,    and     to     inaccurate    and 


Xll. 


(Preface>  ^ 

inadequate  translations.  Beyond  this,  my  plan  has 
been  simply  to  take  the  Words  of  our  Lord 
paragraph  by  paragraph,  explaining  them  and 
applying  them,  according  to  my  ability,  to  the 
practical  needs  of  Christians  in  our  day. 

In  putting  forth  these  addresses  I  have  gratefully 
to  acknowledge,  as  on  a  former  occasion,  the 
encouragement  and  assistance  of  Mr.  Elbridge  T. 
Gerry,  of  New  York.  Together  with  the  two 
volumes  on  the  Passion,  they  form  a  somewhat 
complete,  practical  and  devotional  study  of  the 
last  hours  of  our  Blessed  Lord's  life.  Mr.  Gerry  has 
thought  that  such  a  series  of  works  may  be  helpful 
to  the  large  class  of  persons  whose  occupation 
prohibits  them  from  attending  addresses,  except  in 
the  evening,  on  week  days  in  Lent.  They  may 
also,  perhaps,  be  useful  for  daily  readings  at 
Lenten   Services. 

A.  G.   M. 

S.  Mark's,  Philadelphia, 
All  Saints,  1904. 


xiu. 


Baet  ®t0cour0e0  of  ^ut  Borb, 


I. 


THE   DEPARTURE   OF   JUDAS. 


S.  John  xiii.  31,  32. 

"Therefore,  when  he  was  gone  out,  Jesus  said,  Now  is  the  Son  of 
man  glorified,  and  God  is  glorified  in  Him,  If  God  be  glorified  in 
Him,  God  shall  also  glorify  Him  in  Himself,  and  shall  straightway 
glorify  Him." 

[UR  Lord's  last  Words  to  the  world  which 
He  died  to  save  were  spoken  from  the 
pulpit  of  the  Cross,  but  His  last  dis- 
courses to  the  disciples  whom  He  had  trained  to 
carry  on  His  work  seem  to  have  been  spoken 
immediately  after  the  institution  of  the  Holy 
Eucharist,  partly  in  the  upper  chamber,  partly  on 
the  way  to  Gethsemane,  or  perhaps  on  the  way  to 
the  Temple  where  His  final  prayer  of  self-consecration 
was  uttered. 

I  B 


^^  @.6^  ^cbncBba^. 


The  Words  from  the  Cross  consist  of  seven  short 
sentences  embodying  great  principles.  The  dis- 
courses, on  the  other  hand,  constitute  the  longest 
unbroken  utterances  of  our  Blessed  Lord.  In  them 
He  announces  to  His  disciples  the  sad  news  of  His 
departure  from  them,  reveals  to  them  the  purposes 
and  issues  of  that  departure,  and  prepares  them 
to  expect  and  to  receive  that  further  gift  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  through  Whose  power  they  were  to 
accomplish  the  work  for  which  their  Master  had 
trained  them. 

The  associations  which  gatiier  around  these  dis- 
courses are  most  solemn,  whether  we  regard  them 
from  the  point  of  view  of  the  occasion  on  which 
they  were  uttered — ^just  after  the  celebration  of  the 
first  Eucharist,  just  after  the  Apostles  had  made  their 
first  communion  ;  or  whether  we  regard  them  from 
the  point  of  view  of  their  subject  matter — their 
Lord's  departure,  and  its  consequences. 

These  discourses  stand  alone  among  the  utterances 
of  Christ,  not  only  because  of  their  length — we  have 
noliced  that  they  constitute  the  longest  unbroken 
utterances  of  our  Lord,  which  have  come  down  to  us 
in  the  Gospels — but  still  more  on  account  of  the 
sublimity  of  their  subject  matter,  and  of  a  certain 
deep  and  affectionate  pathos  which  pervades  them 
throughout,  and  which  may  be  traced  to  the  sadness 

2 


€^t  ©eparture  of  %ub<XB.  ^ 

of  the  impending  separation  which  the  Divine 
Master  announces  to  His  disciples. 

That  our  Lord's  words  on  this  occasion  sank  most 
deeply  into  the  minds  of  His  hearers,  there  can 
be  no  doubt.  Indeed,  this  is  evident,  from  the 
fulness  and  vividness  with  which  they  are  recorded 
by  the  Apostle  most  capable  of  understanding  them, 
the  Apostle  of  Love,  who,  after  meditating  upon  them 
during  a  long  lifetime,  handed  them  down  to  the 
Church  as  one  of  her  most  precious  treasures,  to  be 
pondered  over  and  studied  by  every  devout  Christian. 
Surely,  we  shall  make  no  mistake  if  we  devote  some 
part  of  each  day  this  Lent  to  their  prayerful 
consideration.  And  may  that  Holy  Spirit,  who 
enabled  S.  John  so  perfectly  to  record  these  teachings 
of  our  Lord,  unfold  their  meaning  to  us,  guiding  us, 
according  to  Christ's  gracious  promise,  into  the 
fulness  of  truth  in  our  meditation  upon  His 
words. 

The  discourses  begin  with  the  departure  of  Judas 
from  the  upper  chamber,  that  is,  with  the  thirty-first 
verse  of  the  thirteenth  chapter  of  S.  John ;  and 
they  continue  without  break,  or  with  but  one  slight 
break  to  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  chapter ;  and 
then  conclude  with  our  Lord's  prayer  of  consecration 
in  the  seventeenth  chapter. 

The  departure  of  Judas  was  a  crisis  in  our  Lord's 

3 


^  (^g^  T3?ebne6b(Xg, 

Passion.  It  marked  His  victory ;  for  it  was  the 
moment  when  the  element  of  evil  in  the  apostolic 
company  was  expelled.  And  that  element  of  evil 
represented  by  Judas  went  forth  to  work  out  its  own 
malicious  purpose  in  betraying  Jesus  Christ  into  the 
hands  of  His  enemies.  We  must  keep  this  in  mind, 
in  order  that  we  may  understand  the  words  with 
which  our  Lord  begins  His  discourse,  "  Therefore, 
when  he  was  gone  out,  Jesus  saith,  Now  is  the  Son  of 
Man  glorified,  and  God  is  glorified  in  Him  :  and  God 
shall  also  glorify  Him  in  Himself,  and  shall  straight- 
way glorify  Him." 

We  must  observe  that  these  words  are  spoken  of 
the  relation  of  the  Son  of  Man  to  God,  not  of  the 
Son  of  God  to  the  Father.  That  is  to  say,  they  are 
spoken  in  reference  to  our  Lord's  human  nature. 
Man  in  Christ  has  glorified  God  by  entire  fulfilment 
of  His  Will ;  and  therefore  God  can  now  glorify  the 
Son  of  man  by  taking  His  glorified  humanity  from 
henceforth  into  perfect  fellowship  with  Himself. 
Thus,  we  read,  that  S.  Stephen,  "  being  full  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  looked  up  stcdfastly  into  Heaven,  and 
saw  the  glory  of  God,  and  Jesus  standing  on  the 
right  hand  of  God.""^ 

The  act  of  self-sacrifice,  even  unto  death,  and 
therefore  the  conquest  of  death,  is,  you  will  notice, 

*  Acts  vii.  55. 

4 


€f)C  departure  of  %nb(Xs.  ^ 

spoken  of  as  past,  even  though  it  had  not  yet 
occurred  ;  because,  in  dismissing  Judas  to  do  his 
work,  our  Lord  accepted  the  issues  of  that  work. 
The  departure  of  Judas,  with  Christ's  consent,  was 
the  decisive  act  by  which  the  Passion  was  accepted, 
by  which  Christ  perfectly  fulfilled  God's  Will. 

Our  Lord  came  into  the  world,  not  only  to  die  for 
man,  but  to  live  for  man,  to  live  a  life  of  perfect 
obedience  and  absolute  dependence  upon  His 
Father's  Will.  In  the  beginning  of  His  ministry 
He  said,  "  My  meat  is  to  do  the  will  of  Him  that 
sent  Me,  and  to  accomplish  His  work."*  This  was 
the  motto  of  Christ's  life.  It  had  been  prophesied 
of  Him  in  the  Psalms,  "  Lo,  I  come ;  in  the  volume 
of  the  book  it  is  written  of  Me,  that  I  should  fulfil 
Thy  will,  O  my  God  :    I  am  content  to  do  it."f 

Man  had  fallen  in  Adam  by  disobedience  to  the 
revealed  Will  of  God  ;  and  from  Adam  to  Jesus 
Christ  every  child  of  man  had  fallen  in  the  same 
way.  Now  One  came,  the  Son  of  Man,  the 
representative  of  humanity,  the  second  Adam,  Who 
was  not  only  to  die  a  death  which  should  be  a 
sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  world,  but  was  to  live  a 
life  which  should  make  that  death  of  sacrificial 
efficacy.  It  was  not  the  mere  act  of  dying  to 
redeem  mankind  ;  it  was  that  the  Sufferer  upon  the 

*  S.  John  iv.  34.  t  Psalm  xl.  9,  10. 

5 


Cross  had  perfectly  fulfilled  His  Father's  Will,  had 
perfectly  glorified  God,  even  in  accepting  the  sorrows 
of  the  Passion,  the  humiliation  and  death  upon  the 
Cross — it  was  the  sinlessness,  the  perfect  obedience  of 
the  Victim,  which  gave  to  the  Sacrifice  its  efficacy. 
Others  might  have  died,  and  died  willingly  ;  but 
their  death  would  not  have  availed,  even  for 
themselves,  as  a  sacrifice,  because  their  life  was 
marred  by  sin.  But  Christ  was  the  Lamb  without 
blemish ;  His  whole  life  was  absolutely  perfect — 
not  one  thought,  not  one  word,  not  one  act,  which 
was  not  in  absolute  conformity  to  His  Father's 
Will. 

And  therefore,  in  dismissing  Judas  to  accomplish 
his  traitorous  purpose,  our  Lord  accepted  what  He 
knew  was  involved  in  the  departure  of  Judas,  and 
was  able  to  turn  to  the  Father  and  say  these  words, 
"  Now  is  the  Son  of  man  glorified,  and  God  is 
glorified  in  Him  ;  and  God  shall  also  glorify  Him  in 
Himself,  and  shall  straightway  glorify  Him." 

If  we  ask  the  question  of  such  deep  importance  to 
us  all,  Why  were  we  created  ?  there  are  many  ways 
in  which  we  may  answer  it ;  but  one  certainly  is,  To 
glorify  God.  This  is  the  true  purpose,  the  highest 
end,  the  final  cause,  of  our  creation.  And  therefore 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  accepting  God's  purpose 
that  He  should  die  for  the  sins  of  the  world,  is  able 

6 


Z^c  ©eyarfure  of  ^ubas. 


:)^ 


to  say,  "  Now  is  the  Son  of  man  glorified,  and  God 
is  glorified  in   Him." 

To  what  extent  do  we  make  this  the  end  of  our 
life  ?  How  far  do  we  live  for  the  glory  of  God  ? 
Most  men  make  the  glory  of  self  the  great  object  of 
their  life.  Their  happiness  is  great  when  something 
occurs  to  glorify  t/ie?/i,  when  they  win  the  praise 
of  men,  not  when  they  glorify  God.  What  interest 
we  take  in  the  favourable  criticisms  which  others 
make  upon  our  words  or  actions  !  How  delighted  we 
arc  when  we  read  in  some  newspaper  a  tribute  to  our 
cleverness,  or  popularity,  or  generosity  ! 

We  are  delighted,  not  because  we  deserve  praise, 
but  because  we  have  obtained  it.  Very  possibly  we 
know  that  we  do  not  deserve  it,  that  our  cleverness 
was  not  altogether  original,  that  our  popularity  was 
not  deserved,  that  our  generosity  was  not  unselfish. 
But  we  do  not  stop  to  think  of  these  things  ;  we  are 
happy  because  we  have  won  the  approbation  of  the 
world,  because  we  have  obtained  glory  for  ourselves, 
even  though,  perhaps,  we  despise  the  organ  which 
praises  us,  and  are  well  aware  that  its  opinions  are  of 
little  value.  How  pleased  we  are  when  someone 
tells  us  of  the  flattering  words  which  someone  else 
has  spoken  concerning  us,  not  because  we  value  that 
person's  judgment,  but  because  we  like  to  be  admired 
and  glorified. 

7 


How  different  it  was  with  our  Blessed  Lord  !  He 
realised  that  the  full  purpose  of  man's  life  was  to 
glorify  God ;  and  therefore  He  accepted  a  life  of 
humiliation,  and  died  amid  the  execrations  of  the 
mob.  But  He  is  able  to  say,  "  Now  is  the  Son  of 
Man  glorified,  and  God  is  glorified  in  Him."  He 
teaches  us,  by  this,  that  man's  true  glory  is  to  do 
God's  Will,  to  accomplish  God's  work,  and  so  to 
fulfil  the  purpose  for  which  he  was  created.  We  all 
know  how  worthless  is  the  world's  praise,  how  ill 
bestowed  ;  and  yet,  how  many  of  us  crave  it,  and,  to 
obtain  it,  descend  to  the  use  of  means  which  our 
conscience  tells  us  are   altogether  unworthy. 

We  have  said  that  the  departure  of  Judas  marked 
a  crisis  in  our  Lord's  Passion,  that  it  was  the  moment 
when  the  element  of  evil  in  the  Apostolic  company 
was  expelled  ;  and  that  this  expulsion  involved  for 
our  Blessed  Lord  those  sorrows  of  the  Passion  which 
culminated  in  the  Sacrifice  of  the  Cross. 

So  in  our  own  lives,  any  great  effort  which  leads 
to  the  expulsion  of  evil,  marks  a  crisis,  and  often 
involves  a  sacrifice.  We  cannot  drive  out  the  evil 
which  is  within  us,  without  painful  effort  ;  nor  can  we 
give  up  the  evil  which  is  without  us  in  the  world, 
without  making  some  sacrifice.  But  until  we  do  this 
in  obedience  to  God's  call,  surrendering  perhaps 
something  which  is  very  attractive  in  this  world,  but 

8 


€^c  ©eparfure  of  3uba6»  ^«- 

which,  for  us,  is  incompatible  with  perfect  obedience 
to  God's  Will,  there  can  be  no  real  progress  in  the 
spiritual  life.  The  expulsion  of  evil  must  come  first, 
the  breaking  ofif  from  what  is  wrong ;  and  then  will 
follow  the  unfolding  and  development  of  the  powers 
of  the  soul,  under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
And  this  will  result  in  the  growth  of  Christian  virtues, 
and  the  manifestation  of  the  fruits  of  the  Holy- 
Spirit;  in  short,  in  the  formation  of  a  Christ-like 
character ;  and  by  this  we  glorify  God,  and  are 
glorified,  not  by  man,  but  by  God. 


II. 

SixBt  Z^ux&biX^  in  S^tnt. 

THE   NEW   CO:\II\IANDArENT. 


S.  John  xiii.  33-35. 

"Little  children,  yet  a  little  while  I  am  with  you.  Ye  shall  seek 
Me  :  and  as  I  said  unto  the  Jews,  Whither  I  go,  ye  cannot  come  ;  so 
now  I  say  to  you.  A  new  commandment  I  give  unto  you,  That  ye 
love  one  another;  as  I  have  loved  you,  that  ye  also  love  one  another. 
By  this  shall  all  men  know  that  ye  are  My  disciples,  if  yc  have 
love  one  to  another.'* 

^jUR  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  haviiifr  uttered  the 
joyous  burst  of  praise  at  the  departure 
of  Judas,  which  we  considered  yesterday, 
now  turns  to  His  disciples  and  says,  "  Little  children, 
yet  a  little  while  I  am  with  you.  Ye  shall  seek 
Me :  and  as  I  said  unto  the  Jews,  Whither  I  go, 
ye  cannot  come  ;  so  now   I   say  to  )  ou.". 

"  Little  children."     The  exact  word   (YcKvia)  occurs 

10 


€^t  (ftcro  Comntanbtnenf.  ^ 

here  only  in  the  Gospels,  though  it  is  found  six 
times,  and  perhaps  a  seventh  time,  in  the  Epistles 
of  S.  John,*  and  once  (probably)  in  S,  Paul.f  It 
is  an  expression  of  deep  affection,  of  solicitude  for 
those  who  are  yet  immature  and  need  protection 
and  care,  and  to  whom  a  great  sorrow  and  trial  is 
shortly  to  come,  in  their  Master's  departure.  This 
sad  news  He  reveals  to  them  when  He  says,  "Yet 
a  little  while  I  am  with  you," — only  a  few  more 
hours.  And  then  He  goes  on  to  add,  "  Ye  shall 
seek  Me."  He  does  not  say,  as  He  said  to  the 
Jews,  "Ye  shall  seek  Me,  and  ye  shall  not  find 
Me :  "I    but,   as    He   said    to   the   Jews   on    another 

occasion,  "  Ye  shall  seek   Me whither  I  go, 

ye  cannot  come."||  They  were  to  seek  Him  and 
find  Him  ;  nay,  more,  to  be  found  of  Him.  But 
they  could  not  go  with  Him  where  He  was  going  ; 
at  least,  not  yet.  So  He  says,  "  Whither  I  go,  ye 
cannot  come."  Naturally,  they  wanted  to  know  why. 
It  was  because  they  were  immature,  little  children, 
babes  in  Christ,  that  they  were  not  yet  ready  to 
follow  Him  into  the  kingdom  of  His  glory.  And 
the  season  of  bereavement,  of  sorrow,  bitter  as  it 
was,  was  to  be  a  season  of  spiritual  growth,  and 
especially   a   growth    in    that    virtue,    which    is    the 

*    C/.  I  S.  John  ii.  i,  12,  28  ;  iii.  7,  18  ;  iv.  4  ;  v.  21. 

t  Gal.  iv.  19.  J  S.  John  vii.  34.  (|   S.  John  viii.  21. 

II 


greatest  of  all  virtues,  the  most  godlike — the  virtue 
of  love — that  "  charity  which  is  the  bond  of  perfect- 
ness"*  the  bond  by  which  the  soul  is  united  to 
God,  Who  is  Love. 

And  so  the  Master  gives  to  His  little  children 
a  new  commandment,  to  be  the  law  of  their  life 
during  the  period  of  their  waiting  and  development. 
He  says,  "  A  new  commandment  I  give  unto  you, 
That  ye  love  one  another  ;  as  I  have  loved  you, 
that  ye  also  love  one  another.  By  this  shall  all 
men  know  that  ye  are  My  disciples,  if  ye  have 
love  one  to  another." 

In  what  sense  was  this  new  ?  Not  in  the  letter, 
for  love  had  always  been  the  principle  of  the 
decalogue  ;  but  new  in  its  motive,  and  scope,  and 
model.  The  old  commandment  was  given  from 
Sinai,  and  was  summarised  by  the  Law-giver,  "  Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyselff  The  new 
commandment  is  associated  with  Calvary.  It  is 
a  commandment  of  love,  like  the  old,  but  enlarged 
in  its  motive,  and  scope,  and  model.  The  motive 
is  the  realisation  of  a  new  tie  which  binds  Christians 
together  as  fellow-members  of  the  Body  of  Christ 
in  a  new  family,  the  Church,  which  is  the  Household 
of  God. 

Then    the    scope    is    changed.      It    is    not    merely 

*   Col.  iii.  14.  t  Levit.  xix.  18. 

12 


€^c  aXm  Commanbmcnt  ^ 


your  neighbour  whom  you  are  to  love,  but  all  that 
great  multitude  who  make  up  the  family  of  Christ, 
in  Whom  "  There  is  neither  Jew  nor  Greek,  there 
is  neither  bond  nor  free,  there  is  neither  male  nor 
female."* 

And  lastly,  the  model  proposed  is  different. 
You  are  no  longer  to  love  your  neighbour  as 
yourself,  but  as  Christ  loved  you.  The  model 
proposed  is  not  self-love,  but  the  self-sacrificing 
love  of  Christ. 

We  must  observe,  however,  that  there  is  a 
limitation.  Our  Blessed  Lord  is  not  speaking  of 
that  love  which  we  should  have  for  all  men  as 
common  children  of  a  heavenly  Father,  but  that 
love  which  we  should  have  for  our  fellow-Christians, 
those  who,  in  addition  to  being  children  of  God 
are  members  of  Christ,  and  therefore  bound  to  one 
another  in  the  closest  possible  union,  in  the  mystical 
Body  of  Christ  our  Lord.  It  is  not,  therefore, 
philanthropy  towards  our  fellow-men  in  general 
that  our  Lord  is  inculcating,  but  love  of  the 
brethren,  of  those  who  are  knit  together  in  the 
bonds  of  love,  because  they  are  fellow-members 
of  Christ's  Body. 

We  must  observe,  too,  that  the  character  of  the 
commandment   is   altogether   new.       Christians   are 

*   Gal.  iii.  28. 

13 


^'  ^ixBt  S^^utBbdg  in  £enf. 

to  love  one  another,  not  merely  as  neighbours,  not 
only  as  they  love  themselves,  that  is,  with  a  love 
which  is  more  or  less  selfish,  but  with  the  self- 
sacrificing  love  which  Christ  manifests  to  all.  The 
selfish  love  might  lead  us  to  please  our  neighbour 
in  things  which  were  not  for  his  edification.  The 
self-sacrificing  love  would  cause  us  to  edi/y  him 
in  things  which,  perhaps,  did  not  altogether  please 
him. 

We  see  that  Christ  proposes  no  one  less  than 
Himself  as  our  Model.  His  love  was  practical  and 
active.  It  was  not  merely  a  sentiment  or  feeling. 
It  led  Him  to  perform  works  of  mercy,  to  minister 
to  the  sick,  to  sympathise  with  the  sorrowful,  to 
rejoice  at  the  marriage  in  Cana,  to  weep  at  the 
grave  of  Lazarus  ;  and  finally,  as  He  reminds  His 
disciples  in  the  next  chapter,  it  led  Him  to  lay 
down  His  life  for  the  brethren. 

Another  point  we  must  notice  in  regard  to  this 
new  commandment  is,  that  it  was  to  be  the  outward 
sign  of  discipleship.  "  By  this  shall  all  men  know 
that  ye  arc  My  disciples,  if  ye  have  love  one  to 
another."  That  this  was  realised  and  acted  upon 
in  the  early  days  of  Christian  fervour  we  learn 
from  one  of  the  first  writers  of  the  Church, 
TertuUian,  who  tells  us  that  the  heathen,  wondering 
at  this  mutual  love  of  Christians,  were  in  the  habit 

14 


€^c  (Uen?  Commanbntent.  ^ 

of  saying,  "See  how  these  Christians  love  one 
another."* 

How  rapidly  Christianity  grew  and  spread  in 
those  early  days,  in  spite  of  opposition  and 
persecution,  perhaps  because  of  them ;  but  chiefly 
on  account  of  the  fulfilment  of  this  new  command- 
ment of  love.  The  world  wondered  at  a  religion 
which  not  only  proposed  mutual  love  as  an  ideal 
of  human  conduct,  but  actually  enabled  men  to 
fulfil  this  law  of  love.  And  the  secret  of 
Christianity's  growth  was  the  power  of  this  new 
commandment ;  just  as  in  later  times,  and,  alas !  in 
our  own  days,  the  non-fulfilment  of  the  law  of 
mutual  love  is  the  principal  cause  of  the  weakness 
and  decay  of  the  Christian  religion,  resulting  not 
only  in  the  rending  of  Christ's  body  by  innumer- 
able schisms,  but  even  in  the  Church  itself,  in  that 
party  spirit  which  is  incompatible  with  the  law  of 
love. 

Well  may  we  lay  this  command  of  our  Lord 
to  heart.  It  comes  to  us  with  all  the  force  of 
farewell  words.  We  cannot  heal  the  schisms  of 
the  Church,  but  we  can,  by  our  mutual  love  to 
one  another,  greatly  diminish  the  bitterness  of 
party  spirit ;  for  we  can  at  least  resolve  to  try  to 
understand   one  another,   and    never  to  speak   with 

*  TertulL,  "Apolog.,"c.  39. 
15 


^  §mi  2^§ut6bag  in  £enf. 

unnecessary  bitterness  of  those  from  whom  we  are 
conscientiously  constrained  to  differ. 

This  is,  of  course,  but  a  negative  carrying  out 
of  the  commandment.  And  we  may  all  do  more 
than  this,  by  actively  striving  to  minister  to  our 
brethren  in  need,  recognising  in  each  a  member  of 
Christ's  flock,  bound  therefore  to  us  by  the  ties  of 
holiest  love. 

Some  have  thought  that  this  new  commandment 
refers  to  the  institution  of  the  Holy  Eucharist, 
which  was  to  be  the  sacrament  of  love.  But  the 
institution  of  a  sacrament  can  scarcely  be  called  a 
commandment.  And  yet  there  is  an  element  of 
truth  in  the  suggestion,  since  the  Holy  Eucharist 
is  the  special  manifestation  of  Christ's  love  to  us 
in  supplying  our  soul's  need,  by  giving  us,  as  its 
food.  His  Body  and  Blood  ;  and  more,  since  every 
Eucharist  is  the  memorial  of  that  act  of  love  by 
which,  upon  the  Cross,  our  Lord  gave  His  life  for 
us,  of  that  Sacrifice  by  which  we  are  redeemed. 

Rightly,  then,  has  the  Church  appointed  these 
words,  "  A  new  commandment  I  give  unto  you. 
That  ye  love  one  another,"  as  the  first  antiphon  to 
be  sung  during  the  ceremony  of  the  feet-washing  on 
Thursday  in  Holy  Week,  from  whence,  as  you  know, 
the  day  derives  its  name.  Maundy  Thursday ;  so 
that    the    anniversary    of     the    institution     of    the 

i6 


€^e  (Tlen>  CommMtmcnt  ^^ 

Blessed  Sacrament  is  always  associated,  by  its 
nam  %  with  this  new  commandment  which  Christ 
gave  to  His  disciples. 

And  surely  this  brinies  before  us  another  reason 
why  we  should  love  one  another,  not  only  that 
we  are  members  of  Christ's  one  Body,  the  Church, 
but  that  we  are  fellow-partakers  of  that  one  Body 
in  the  Eucharistic  feast.  Not  only  are  we  incor- 
porated into  Him  by  baptism,  but  we  feed  on 
Him  through  Communion  ;  so  that,  by  being 
nourished  with  the  same  spiritual  food,  we  are  knit 
together  in  the  closest  relationships  of  life. 

We  are  to  love  one  another  as  Christ  loved  us, 
Who  being  in  the  form  of  God,  was  impelled  by 
love  for  man  in  his  perishing  condition  to  take 
upon  Him  the  form  of  a  servant,  and  to  become 
obedient  unto  the  death  of  the  Cross.  From  His 
throne  in  Heaven  the  Son  of  God  beheld  us  in 
our  need,  and  hastened  to  our  succour,  thou;:^h  to 
help  us  and  save  us  cost  Him  all  the  humiliation 
of  the  Incarnation,  all  the  sorrows  of  the  Passion  ! 

And  if  we  would  fulfil  this  new  commandment, 
we  must,  according  to  our  own  measure,  strive  to 
hasten  to  the  succour  of  those  members  of  Christ's 
Body  whom  we  see  to  be  in  distress,  and  whom 
we  are  able  to  aid,  either  in  mind,  by  sympathy  ; 
in    body,   by    ministering   to   their    sickness  ;   or   in 

17  C 


estate,  by  supplying  their  wants.  We  must  not 
grudge  the  trouble  or  pains  this  may  involve  ;  for 
we  are  to  love  our  brethren,  not  with  a  selfish 
love,  but  with  the  self-sacrificing  love  with  which 
Christ  loved  us. 


i8 


III. 


THE    QUESTION   OF   S.    PETER. 


S.  John  xiii.  36-38. 

''Simon  Peter  said  unto  Him,  Lord,  whither  goest  Thou?  Jesus 
answered  him,  Whither  I  go,  thou  canst  not  follow  Me  now  ;  but  thou 
shalt  follow  Me  afterwards.  Peter  said  unto  Him,  Lord,  why  cannot 
I  follow  Thee  now  ?  I  will  lay  down  my  life  for  Thy  sake. 
Jesus  answered  him,  Wilt  thou  lay  down  thy  life  for  My  sake  ? 
Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  The  cock  shall  not  crow,  till  thou 
hast  denied  Me  thrice." 

UR  Lord's  announcement  of  His  approaching 
departure  leads  to  questions  from  four  of 
His  disciples,  questions  which  reveal  some- 
thing of  the  character  and  spiritual  comprehension 
of  each  of  the  questioners,  and  something  of  the 
difficulties  which  His  words  presented  to  their  minds. 
The  questioners  were  S.  Peter,  S.  Thomas,  S.Philip, 
and  S.   Jude,  each  of  whom,  taking  up  our  Lord's 

19 


-o^  ^mt  ^xiia^  in  &enf. 

words,  seeks  further  enlightenment  as  to  their 
meaning. 

S.  Peter  as  usual  is  the  first  to  speak,  for  we  read 
that,  "  Simon  Peter  saith  unto  Him,  Lord,  whither 
goest  Thou  ?  Jesus  answered  him,  Whither  I  go, 
thou  canst  not  follow  Me  now ;  but  thou  shalt 
follow  Me  afterwards.  Peter  saith  unto  Him,  Lord, 
why  cannot  I  follow  Thee  now?  I  will  lay  down 
my  life  for  Thy  sake." 

It  was  a  natural  question  to  ask,  when  S.  Peter 
heard  our  Lord  speak  of  His  departure,  but  it  showed 
a  very  imperfect  comprehension  on  his  part  in  regard 
to  much  of  Christ's  past  teaching ;  for  it  probably 
implied  that  S.  Peter,  like  most  of  the  other 
disciples,  looked  forward  to  the  setting  up  of  a 
temporal  kingdom  in  this  world,  with  our  Lord 
as  the  Messiah.  It  showed  that  S.  Peter  had  not 
understood  the  revelation  of  the  Passion,  at  which, 
indeed,  he  stumbled  so  badly,  that  his  Master  then 
said  to  him,  "  Get  thee  behind  Me,  Satan."* 

Our  Lord's  answer  to  his  question  is  not  direct. 
It  was  an  answer  to  what  was  passing  in  S.  Peter's 
mind,  rather  than  to  S.  Peter's  words.  The  Apostle 
had  asked,  "  Lord,  whither  goest  Thou  ?  "  and  Christ 
replied,  "  Whither  I  go,  thou  canst  not  follow  Me 
now  ;  but  thou  shalt  follow   Me  afterwards." 

*  S.  Matt.  xvi.  23. 
20 


€^c  iXucBJion  of  g,  (peter.  ^ 

From  this  it  is  evident  that  when  S.  Peter  said, 
"Lord,  whither  goest  Thou?"'  he  was  not  moved 
so  much  by  curiosity  in  regard  to  the  place  where 
our  Lord  was  going,  as  by  his  desire  to  go  with 
Him,  to  accompany  Him.  So  that,  without  directly 
announcing  the  goal  of  His  journey,  our  Lord  warns 
S.  Peter  that  he  cannot  follow  Him  now  ;  though  He 
comforts  him  with  the  assurance  that  he  shall  follow 
Him  afterwards. 

S.  Peter  could  not  follow  Christ  where  He  was 
going,  to  another  world,  at  that  time  for  many 
reasons.  First  of  all,  S.  Peter  was  not  spiritually  pre- 
pared for  his  place  in  heaven  ;  his  own  character  had 
not  yet  been  sufficiently  disciplined  and  developed  ; 
his  own  faith  which  seemed  to  him  so  strong,  was 
not  even  able  to  bear  the  shock  of  temptation  in 
the  high-priest's  hall,  where  he  denied  his  Master. 
He  was  not  morally  ready.  But  there  was  another 
reason — his  work  was  not  yet  done  ;  indeed,  it  had 
scarcely  begun,  that  work  for  which  his  Master  had 
been  for  three  years  training  him,  the  work  of 
preaching  the  Gospel,  and  organising  the  infant 
Church  in  the  world.  Before  S.  Peter  could  follow 
Christ  to  his  reward,  he  must  do  his  work ;  he  must 
suffer  ;  and,  by  suffering,  be  made  perfect,  that  he 
might  become  one  of  the  foundation  stones  of  the 
City  of  God.     How  great  was  the  work  that  S.  Peter 

21 


^  ^ixBi  S^tbdg  in  SLCnt, 

was  to  accomplish  in  this  world  before  he  won  his 
crown  ! 

But  our  Lord  gives  him  a  promise,  *'  Thou  shalt 
follow  Me  afterwards."  And  that  promise,  remember, 
was  renewed  to  him  after  his  denial,  after  his  peni- 
tence, after  his  pardon  ;  when,  at  the  Lake  of  Galilee, 
our  Lord  told  him  the  manner  of  death  by  which  he 
should  glorify  his  Master,  and  follow  Him  into  the 
world  beyond  ;  for  then  He  said  to  Peter,  '*  Verily, 
verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  when  thou  wast  young,  thou 
girdest  thyself,  and  walkest  whither  thou  wouldest : 
but  when  thou  shalt  be  old,  thou  shalt  stretch  forth 
thy  hands,  and  another  shall  gird  thee,  and  carry  thee 
whither  thou  wouldest  not."  And  S.  John  remarks, 
'*  This  spake  He,  signifying  by  what  death  he  should 
glorify  God.""*^ 

"  Whither  goest  Thou  ?  "  Many  who  have  visited 
Rome  will  remember  a  little  church,  called  the 
Chapel  of  the  Domine  Quo  Vadis — "  Lord,  whither 
goest  Thou  ?  "  It  is  associated  with  a  legend  of  very 
early  authority,!  that  when  S.  Peter  was  fleeing  from 
Rome,  from  the  Mamertine  Prison,  our  Lord  met 
him  ;  and  to  his  question,  ''  Lord,  whither  goest 
Thou  ? "  replied,  "  I  am  going  to  Rome  to  be 
crucified  again."     S.  Peter,  from  these  words,  undcr- 

*  S.  John  xxi.  i8,  19. 

t  It  is  referred  to  by  Origcn  in  "  Joann  "  xx.  12. 

22 


t^c  4jue6tion  of  ^.  (peter.  ^ 

stood  that  the  hour  of  his  own  martyrdom  had  come  ; 
and,  returning  to  his  prison  at  Rome,  was  shortly 
afterwards  crucified,  under  Nero.  The  place  where 
the  meeting  is  said  to  have  taken  place  is  marked  by 
the  Chapel  of  the  Doinine  Quo  Vadis. 

S.  Peter  says  to  our  Lord,  **  Why  cannot  I  follow 
Thee  now  ?  I  will  lay  down  my  life  for  Thy  sake." 
Here  we  recognise  the  impetuous  nature  which 
always  desires  to  act  at  once,  and  frets  at  waiting. 
We  cannot  but  admire  the  spirit  that  prompted  these 
words.  The  tendency  of  the  world  in  regard  to 
unpleasant  duty  is,  as  a  rule,  not  to  act  at  once,  but 
to  put  off  as  long  as  possible  the  disagreeable  duty. 
But  S.  Peter,  with  his  impulsive  temperament,  is  not 
content  with  the  promise,  "  Thou  shalt  follow  Me 
afterwards,"  but  asks,  "  Why  cannot  I  follow  Thee 
now  ?  I  will  lay  down  my  life  for  Thy  sake."  He 
did  not  ask  where  our  Lord  was  going,  but  he 
recognised  from  our  Lord's  words  that  He  was 
going  into  some  great  peril,  and  at  once  offers  to 
share  the  peril  with  Him,  even  though  it  should 
involve  the  sacrifice  of  his  very  life. 

"  I  will  lay  down  my  life  for  Thy  sake."  He 
thought  he  had  counted  the  cost  when  he  said 
these  words  ;  he  believed  that  he  could  lay  down  his 
life  for  Christ  before  Christ  had  laid  down  His  life 
for  him.     But  later  on  he  learned  that  it  was  only 

23 


'^  ^ixBt  S^ibag  in  &cni. 

through  Christ's  Passion   that  his    own    martyrdom 
became  possible. 

He  was  to  wait.  How  much  has  to  be  learned  in 
periods  of  waiting  ;  how  much,  too,  has  to  be  done  in 
those  times  of  delay,  that  we  may  be  able,  when  the 
opportunity  offers,  to  embrace  it,  and  to  accomplish 
God's  work.  S.  Peter  was  tested  that  very  night  in 
the  high-priest's  house  ;  the  opportunity  offered,  but 
he  was  not  ready.  And  so,  alas !  he  denied  his 
Master  from  fear  of  a  maid-servant.  But  afterwards 
when,  in  that  period  of  long  waiting,  he  had  learned, 
by  the  things  which  he  had  suffered,  and  had  come 
to  experience  the  grace  of  Jesus  Christ,  he  was 
able  to  lay  down  his  life  as  a  martyr.  In  the 
high-priest's  house  he  did  not  even  dare  to  confess 
Christ  before  a  few  soldiers  and  servants,  but  after 
the  period  of  waiting  and  preparation  he  cheerfully 
went  back  to  Rome,  to  suffer  and  to  die  for  his 
Master. 

What  a  lesson  there  is  for  us  here  ! — that  the 
periods  of  waiting  in  this  world,  when  God  does 
not  seem  to  have  anything  very  especial  for  us  to 
do,  must  be  used  as  periods  of  learning  and  of 
working.  How  many  there  arc  who  say,  "  I  do 
not  know  what  my  vocation  is  in  life ;  God  has 
not  shown  me  my  work,  and  therefore  I  will  do 
nothing,  until  He  does  call  mc." 

24 


t^c  ^uegtion  of  ^.  (pcicx.  ^ 

By  such,  when  the  call  comes,  the  discovery  is 
often  made  that  they  are  not  able  to  follow  Him. 
They  are  like  the  foolish  virgins,  who,  while  pro- 
fessing to  be  waiting  for  Christ,  when  the  cry  was 
heard,  "  Behold,  the  Bridegroom  cometh ;  go  ye 
out  to  meet  Him,"*  discovered  that,  in  their  period 
of  waiting,  the  oil  in  their  lamps  had  become 
exhausted. 

It  is  in  times  of  waiting  that  we  should  be  learning 
and  labouring,  striving  to  fashion  and  sharpen  the 
instrument  ourselves  ;  so  that,  when  God  is  ready 
to  use  it,  the  instrument  may  be  found  ready  for 
His  purpose. 

If  we  take  the  lives  of  those  who  have  accomplished 
the  greatest  work  for  God,  we  shall  find  that  almost 
always  they  had  to  wait  many,  many  years  before 
the  opportunity  offered  for  carrying  out  what  they 
felt  to  be  their  life's  work.  But  we  shall  also 
discover  that  they  did  not  spend  these  years  in 
idleness  ;  they  spent  them  in  prayer  and  the  study 
of  God's  Word ;  so  that  when  the  moment  came 
that  the  opportunity  presented  itself,  the  work  was 
done  with  marvellous  celerity  and  success,  because 
they  had  been  so  long  preparing  themselves  to 
do  it. 

To    how  many  it  is  just  the    other  way !     They 

*  S.  Matt.  XXV.  6. 

25 


•^  ^ixBt  St^ibag  in  £enf. 

waste  the  periods  of  waiting  ;  and  when  the  time 
of  work  comes,  they  find  that  they  have  so  blunted 
their  spiritual  perceptions  and  ruined  their  natural 
gifts,  that  they  are  no  longer  adle  to  do  the  work 
which  God  puts  before  them  ;  not  because  they  are 
not  willing  to  do  it,  but  because  they  have  lost, 
they  have  forfeited,  the  power  to  do  it.  "  Thou  canst 
not  follow  Me  now;  but  thou  shalt  follow  Me 
afterwards." 


26 


IV. 


THE    TRAINING    OF    S.    PETER. 


S.  John  xiii.  38. 

' '  Jesus  answereth,  Wilt  thou  lay  down  thy  life  for  My  sake  ? 
Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee.  The  cock  shall  not  crow,  till  thou  hast 
denied  Me  thrice." 

UR  Lord's  repetition  of  S.  Peter's  exact 
words,  "  Thy  life  for  Me  wilt  thou  lay- 
down  ? "  has  a  deep  pathos.  It  is  as 
though  He  accepted  the  essential  truth  of  S.  Peter's 
generous  assertion,  while  He  pointed  out  the 
impossibility  of  its  fulfilment  at  that  time.  He 
tells  S.  Peter  he  will  have  an  opportunity  that  very 
night  of  proving  himself,  not  by  dying  for  his 
Master,  but  by  confessing  that  he  is  a  disciple.  An 
opportunity  ?  Nay,  three  opportunities ;  and  that 
in    every   case   he   shall   not    only   lamentably    fail 

27 


'^^^  ^ivBJ  ^dfurbag  in  &enf. 

to   confess    his    Master,    but   shall    shamefully   deny 
Him! 

There  are  few  episodes  in  the  Gospels  more  full 
of  instruction  than  this  ;  for,  from  the  example  of 
S.  Peter,  we  learn  that  real  strength  is  to  be 
measured,  not  by  generous  impulses,  but  by  the 
recognition  of  two  fundamental  truths — our  own 
natural  weakness  and  inability,  and  God's  unceasing 
love. 

As  a  great  ascetic  writer  teaches,*  the  foundation 
of  all  spiritual  hfe  must  be  laid  in  distrust  of  self  and 
perfect  trust  in  God.  S.  Peter  learned  these  truths 
by  the  experience  of  the  three  years  spent  with  our 
Blessed  Lord,  and  they  were  not  entirely  grasped 
by  him  until  the  last  disastrous  fall  which  our  Lord 
here  foretells — his  threefold  denial.  Then  S.  Peter 
fully  learned  his  own  weakness  ;  and  from  the  look 
of  Jesus,  which  won  him  back  to  penitence,  and  the 
words  of  Jesus  after  His  Resurrection,  he  learned  the 
infinite  and  unchanging  love  of  God. 

With  S.  Peter,  the  generous  impulse  was  always 
present  ;  but,  through  over-confidence  in  self,  it  only 
led  to  humiliation  and  failure.  We  may  notice  three 
instances  especially  :  when  S.  Peter  saw  our  Lord 
walking  upon  the  sea,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  say, 
"  Lord,  if  it  be  Thou,  bid  me  come  unto  Thee  on  the 
*  C/.  Scupoli's  ''Spiritual  Combat." 
28 


t^t  Zv(Xxnxna  of  g«  (pcict.  ^ 

water."  And  when  Jesus  said,  "  Come,"  he  cast 
himself  upon  the  water,  and  walked  upon  the  very 
waves.  But,  alas !  he  looked  for  a  moment  away 
from  Christ,  and  observed  that  the  wind  was 
boisterous,  and  the  waves  threatening,  and  his  faith 
began  to  fail,  and  he  began  to  sink.  He  cried, 
"  Lord,  save  me.  And  immediately  Jesus  stretched 
forth  His  hand,  and  caught  him,  and  said  unto  him, 
O  thou  of  little  faith,  wherefore  didst  thou  doubt  ?  "* 
There  S.  Peter  learned  the  instability  of  his  own 
faith,  and  the  constancy  of  Christ's  love.  His  hand 
was  outstretched  to  save  him  the  moment  he  began 
to  sink. 

The  second  instance  follows  immediately  upon 
S.  Peter's  great  confession  of  Christ's  Divinity.  To 
the  question,  "  Whom  do  men  say  that  I,  the  Son  of 
Man,  am  ?  "f  the  Apostles  gave  various  answers  ; 
but  S.  Peter  was  the  first  and  only  one  to  say,  "  Thou 
art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God. "J  Our 
Lord  praises  him  for  this  great  confession,  and  gives 
him  a  glorious  promise  and  privilege.  And  yet  we 
read  only  a  few  verses  further  on  in  the  chapter,  that 
when  Christ  proceeded  to  tell  S.  Peter  of  His 
Passion,  the  Apostle  stumbled  at  it,  "  and  began  to 
rebuke  Him,  saying,  be  it  far  from  Thee,  Lord  :  this 

*    Cf.  S.  Matt.  xiv.  28-34.  t  S.  Matt.  xvi.  13. 

X  S.  Matt.  xvi.  16. 

29 


^  ^ixBi  ^(Xtutbdg  in   £enf. 

shall  not  be  unto  Thee."  But  Christ  "  turned,  and 
said  unto  Peter,  Get  thee  behind  Me,  Satan  ;  thou  art 
an  offence  unto  Me  ;  for  thou  mindest  not  the 
things  that  be  of  God,  but  those  that  be  of  men."* 

S.  Peter's  third  great  fall  was  in  the  high-priest's 
palace,  and  it  took  place  after  our  Lord's  warning : 
"Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  The  cock  shall  not 
crow  till  thou  hast  denied  Me  thrice." 

S.  Peter,  knowing  that  some  great  peril  threatened 
his  Master,  had  said  :  "  Lord,  ...  I  will  lay  down 
my  life  for  Thy  sake."  Christ  tells  him  that  before 
the  night  is  past  he  will  have  learned  his  own 
weakness.  It  will  not  be  a  question  of  laying  down 
his  life,  but  only  an  acknowledgment  of  his  disciple- 
ship.  S.  Peter  thinks  that  this  is  impossible — 
"  Although  all  shall  be  offended,  yet  will  not  I." 
But  he  learns  with  bitter  shame  that  his  Master 
knows  him  better  than  he  knows  himself;  that  his 
own  boasted  strength,  apart  from  Christ's  grace,  is 
utter  weakness.  And  this  knowledge  for  ever 
destroys  his  self-confidence,  and  establishes  the 
conviction  of  his  own  natural  weakness.  Thus  he 
learns  to  distrust  himself;  but  he  learns  more — to 
trust  Christ ;  for,  when  he  had  so  shamefully  denied 
his  Master  thrice,  we  read  that  "  the  Lord  turned, 
and  looked  upon  Peter.     And  Peter  remembered  the 

*   C/.  S.  Matt.  xvi.  21-24. 

30 


t^c  ^r dining  of  g>  Qpeter.  ^ 

word  of  the  Lord,  how  He  had  said  unto  him,  Before 
the  cock  crow,  thou  shalt  deny  Me  thrice.  And 
Peter  went  out,  and  wept  bitterly.'"^ 

What  was  there  in  that  look  of  Jesus  which 
pierced  S.  Peter's  heart,  and  recalled  him  to 
penitence  ?  It  is  worth  while  noticing  carefully  the 
exact  word  which  S.  Luke  uses  (eVe/SXe-y/^ei/).  The  verb 
compounded  with  the  preposition  (iv),  signifies,  not 
merely  to  look  upon  a  person,  but  to  look  with  a 
swift,  penetrating  glance.  So  that  it  implies  that  our 
Lord  looked  S.  Peter  through  and  through,  and  read 
his  very  heart 

It  is  not  a  little  suggestive  that  this  same  word 
is  used  of  the  look  which  our  Lord  cast  upon  S. 
Peter  the  first  time  He  met  him,  when  He  said  to 
him,  "  Thou  art  Simon  the  son  of  Jona  :  thou  shalt 
be  called  Cephas. "f  The  look  recalled  our  Lord's 
warning  (this  S.  Luke  tells  us).  But  may  it  not  also 
have  recalled  that  first  meeting  with  his  Master, 
when  He  uttered  the  glorious  promise,  "  Thou  shalt 
be  called  Cephas  " — the  rock  ?  As  S.  Peter  pondered 
upon  his  sin,  what  memories  must  have  flooded  his 
mind — the  glorious  promise,  the  shameful  failure, 
but  also  the  unwearied  love  of  his  Master  ! 

On  Easter  Day,  we  know  that  our  Lord  appeared 
to  S.  Peter,  although  we  are  not  told  what  passed 

*  S.  Luke  xxii.  6 1,  62.  f  S.  John  i.  42, 

31 


between  them  ;  for  a  veil  is  drawn  over  the  inter- 
course of  the  penitent  soul  with  the  great  Absolver. 
But  later,  by  the  Lake  of  Galilee,  we  learn  that 
S.  Peter  was  fully  restored  to  his  pastorate.  After 
that  he  is  a  different  man  ;  he  has  learned  the  two 
great  truths — to  distrust  himself  and  to  trust  God. 
With  the  exception  of  the  incident  at  Antioch, 
recorded  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  there  is  no 
further  trace  of  weakness  in  S.  Peter. 

I  said  that  this  episode  is  full  of  instruction  for  us 
all ;  for  we  all  alike  have  to  learn  by  experience  these 
two  fundamental  truths  of  the  spiritual  life.  We 
have  to  learn  them  where  S.  Peter  learned  them — in 
the  school  of  temptation.  And  until  we  have  learned 
them,  we,  like  S.  Peter,  shall  be  constantly  liable  to 
find  our  most  generous  impulses  leading  us  to 
shameful  failure. 


32 


V. 


THE   MANY   MANSIONS   OF  THE 
FATHER'S    HOUSE. 


S.  John  xiv.   1-3. 

' '  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled  :  ye  believe  in  God,  believe  also 
in  Me.  In  My  Father's  house  are  many  mansions  :  if  it  were  not 
so,  I  would  have  told  you.  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you.  And  if 
I  go  and  prepare  a  place  for  you,  I  will  come  again,  and  receive  you 
unto  Myself;  that  where  I  am,  there  ye  may  be  also." 


HE  question  of  S.  Thomas,  which  follows 
that  of  S.  Peter,  is  introduced  by,  and  arises 
out  of,  the  section  with  which  the  fourteenth 
chapter  of  S.  John  begins,  "  Let  not  your  heart  be 
troubled  :  ye  believe  in  God,  believe  also  in  Me." 

There  had  been  much  to  fill  the  disciples'  hearts 
with  sorrow  and  alarm  ;  not  only  the  announcement 

33  r) 


^  i^ixBt  (Qtonbag  in  &enf. 

of  their  Master's  departure,  but  the  warning  of  the 
treachery  of  Judas — "One  of  you  shall  betray  Me;"* 
and  of  the  weakness  of  S.  Peter — "  Thou  shalt  deny 
Me."t  There  was  much  to  fill  their  minds  with 
terror.  So  now,  in  the  touching  words  with  which 
this  chapter  opens,  our  Lord  consoles  His  disciples — 
"  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled  :  ye  believe  in  God, 
believe  also  in  Me." 

It  is  difficult  to  decide  the  correct  translation  of 
the  latter  part  of  this  verse.  The  two  verbs  "  believe  " 
in  the  Greek  are  precisely  the  same.  They  may  be 
either  in  the  indicative  or  the  imperative  mood.  So 
that  the  translation  may  be  either,  "  Ye  believe  in 
God,  and  ye  believe  in  Me  ; "  or  it  may  be,  "  Believe 
in  God,  and  believe  in  Me."  The  rendering  in  our 
Bible  is  unfortunate,  in  that  it  translates  the  first 
verb  as  indicative,  and  the  other  as  imperative. 
Probably  the  best  scholars  agree  that  both  should 
be  imperative — "  Believe  in  God,  and  believe  in  Me 
also." 

Thus  you  will  see  the  reason  why  they  were  not  to 
be  troubled.  "Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled."  Why? 
Believe  in  God,  and  believe  in  Me  also.  Why  should 
you  not  be  troubled  ?  Because  you  believe  in  God. 
This  means  something  much  more  than  a  mere 
intellectual  acceptance  of  the  fact  of  God's  existence. 

*  S.  Jolui  xiii.  21.  t  S.  Matt.  xxvi.  34. 

34 


th  (tttdng  (fflctngjong.  ^ 

It  implies  that  faith  in  God  which  issues  in  perfect 
trust  in  Him.  The  preposition  (ds)  which  S.  John 
uses  with  the  verb  sicrnifies,  or  rather  suggests,  a 
complete  transference  of  trust  of  oneself  to  another. 
Believe  in  God;  that  is,  put  all  your  trust  in  Him. 
If  you  do,  you  will  not  be  troubled. 

Belief  in  God!  and  what  does  this  imply?  As  I 
have  said,  not  merely  a  belief  in  God's  existence,  but 
some  realisation  of  God's  character,  a  belief  in  His 
attributes  of  Omniscience,  Omnipotence,  and  Love. 
If  we  believe  in  God's  Omniscience,  we  realise  that 
He  knows  our  necessities  and  troubles  before  we  ask, 
and  our  ignorance  in  asking.  If  we  believe  in  His 
Omnipotence,  we  know  that  He  can  help  us  in  all 
our  troubles,  that  no  difficulties  are  too  great  for 
Him.  And  if  we  believe  in  His  Love,  that  He  loves 
us ;  then  we  shall  be  sure,  not  merely  that  He  can 
help  us  to  the  uttermost,  but  that  He  wz//  help  us  as 
is  best  for  us.  Believe,  then,  in  God,  and  you  will 
not  be  troubled. 

And  then  our  Lord  goes  on  to  say,  "  Believe  also 
in  Me."  The  exact  repetition  of  the  phrase  implies 
that  Christ  is  what  the  Father  is — God.  Believe  in 
God,  and  believe  in  Me.  And  surely  this  was  the 
reason  why  their  hearts  were  not  to  be  troubled, 
either  by  the  news  of  His  departure,  or  the  warning 
of  the  treachery  of  Judas,  or  of  the  denial  of  S. 

35 


^^  ^ix&i  (Qtonbag  in   i^txd. 

Peter  ;  for,  if  Christ  be  God,  He  can  comfort,  console, 
and  help  them  in  all  their  trials. 

Then  our  Lord  goes  on  to  say,  "  In  My  Father's 
house  are  many  mansions  :  if  it  were  not  so,  I  would 
have  told  you  ;  for  I  go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you." 

Throughout  these  last  discourses  of  our  Blessed 
Lord  we  observe  the  prominence  of  the  word 
"Father;"  and  that  God,  as  our  Father,  is  set  before 
us  as  the  goal  of  life.  Jesus  says,  "  I  go  unto  the 
Father."*  And  He  invites  us  to  come  to  the 
Father,  through  Him — "No  man  cometh  unto  the 
Father,  but  by  Me."t  So  here  He  says,  "  In  My 
Father's  house  are  many  mansions." 

The  word  translated  "  mansion  "  (ftov^)  occurs  only 
twice  in  the  New  Testament,  both  times  in  this 
chapter — in  this  verse,  and  again  in  the  twenty-third 
verse,  where  our  Lord,  speaking  of  His  Father,  says, 
"  We  will  come  .  .  and  make  our  abode  {yLovr]v)  with 
Him.":}:  The  word  "  abode  "  in  the  latter  verse  is 
the  same  word  which  is  here  translated  "mansion." 
Now,  what  precisely  does  the  word  mean  ?  The 
word  "  mansions "  is  itself  taken  from  the  Latin 
translation  (mansiones),  and  adequately  represents 
the  Greek.  It  literally  means  the  stopping-places 
by  the  roadside  where  travellers  on  a  journey  found 
rest  and   refreshment.     Hence,  there  are  bound  up 

*  St.  Joliu  xiv.  28.  t  ^'  Jolin  xiv.  6.  %  ^'  J**^"'"  ^i^.  23. 

36 


with  it  two  ideas — repose  and  progress.  They  were 
places  where  the  traveller  reposed  for  the  night,  in 
order  that  he  might  have  strength  for  a  fresh  effort 
in  his  journey  the  next  day.  The  fact  that  our 
Blessed  Lord  is  speaking  of  mansions  in  heaven  has 
led  some  to  draw  the  inference  that  in  heaven  our 
life  will  be  one  of  progress  ;  at  least,  the  word  used 
suggests  this  inference. 

"  In  My  Father's  house  are  many  mansions." 
There  will  be  room  for  all  tliere.  He  is  about  to 
tell  them  how  they  will  be  treated  in  this  world  ; 
that  they  will  be  driven  out  of  the  synagogues ;  that 
they  will  be  outcasts  among  their  own  nation  ;  but, 
He  says,  there  will  be  plenty  of  room  for  all  in 
heaven.  When  S.  Mary  and  S.  Joseph  came  to 
Bethlehem,  to  be  enrolled  in  the  census,  they  found 
that  there  was  no  room  in  the  inn.  But  in  heaven 
there  is  no  such  danger ;  there  will  be  room  for 
all. 

"  If  it  were  not  so,  I  would  have  told  you  ;  (for)  I 
go  to  prepare  a  place  for  you."  The  best  manu- 
scripts give  us  the  word  "  for,"  which  is  not  in  our 
Bibles.  It  makes  the  sentence  much  clearer.  It  is 
as  though  our  Lord  would  say,  I  have  not  withheld 
from  you  the  sorrowful  news  of  My  departure  ;  and 
therefore  I  would  not  hesitate  to  tell  you  even 
sadder  news,  if  it  were  necessary.     But  now  I  tell 

37 


^  ^ixBt  (^lonbag  in  SLcnt. 

you  joyful  news — that  there  are  many  mansions  in 
My  Father's  house,  and  that  I  go  to  prepare  a  place 
for  you. 

This,  indeed,  is  the  bright  side  of  Christ's  depar- 
ture. If  He  does  not  go  to  make  preparation  for  us, 
we  cannot  follow.  The  disciples,  doubtless,  would 
have  wished  Him  to  have  stayed  with  them  on  this 
earth  ;  but  He  tells  them  that,  in  going  before  to 
prepare  a  place  for  them  in  heaven,  He  affords  them 
both  the  possibility  and  opportunity  of  following 
where  He  has  gone  before. 

In  the  next  verse  He  says,  "  And  if  I  go  and 
prepare  a  place  for  you,  I  will  come  again,  and  I  will 
receive  you  unto  Myself;  that  where  I  am,  there  ye 
may  be  also."  From  these  words  we  learn  that  our 
Lord's  departure  is  the  condition  of  His  return.  His 
visible  separation  from  them  is  necessary  as  the 
condition  of  His  real  union  with  them,  through  the 
operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

The  Christian,  after  Pentecost,  is  nearer  to  Christ 
than  the  Apostles  were  before  the  Passion.  They 
were  near  to  Him  locally.  They  could  see  Him,  and 
hear  Him.  and  touch  Him,  with  their  bodily  senses  ; 
but  there  was  no  real  spiritual  union  between  Him 
and  them.  After  the  coming  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
they  were  to  be  incorporated  into  Christ,  to  become 
living  members  of  His  Body.     So  that,  in  this  sense, 

38 


His  departure  was  necessary  as  the  condition  of  His 
return  to  them  through  a  more  intimate  union  than 
at  that  time  they  could  conceive  of. 

Our  rendering,  "  I  will  come  again,  and  receive 
you  unto  Myself,"  is  not  quite  correct.  It  should 
be,  "  I  am  coming  again,  and  I  will  receive  you  unto 
Myself."  The  first  verb  is  in  the  present  tense  ;  the 
second,  in  the  future.  Thus  the  Greek  brings  out 
the  fact  that  our  Lord  is  constantly  coming.  Though 
in  this  passage  He  is  referring,  primarily,  to  His  last 
coming  at  the  end  of  the  world,  we  must  not  limit 
His  coming  to  that ;  for  Christ  comes  to  the  world, 
to  the  Church,  and  to  each  individual  Christian, 
continually.  He  came  to  them  at  His  Resurrection  ; 
He  came  again  at  Pentecost,  through  the  operation 
of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  He  comes  to  each  sinner  at  the 
moment  of  conversion ;  He  comes  to  us  in  every 
Communion  ;  He  comes  to  us  in  our  daily  study  of 
His  Word,  if  we  read  it  prayerfully.  And  lastly, 
He  comes  to  us  at  the  moment  of  death  and  at 
the  Day  of  Judgment.  And  all  these  comings  are 
comprehended  in  those  words,  "  I  am  coming 
again." 

But  while  the  Greek  present  implies,  not  a  mere 
act,  but  a  state — that  Christ  is  constantly  coming — 
the  future  can  only  be  referred  to  one  occasion,  "  I 
will  receive  you  unto  Myself,"  that  is,  at  the  moment 

39 


^^  -^ixQi  (^onbag  in  SLCni. 

of  death,  when  He  calls  us  away  from  this  world 
of  sorrow  and  sin,  and  takes  us  to  be  with  Him. 

"That  where  I  am,  ye  may  be  also."  Where 
Christ  is,  there  is  Paradise.  So  He  said  to  the 
penitent  robber  on  the  cross,  "  To-day  shalt  thou 
be  with  Me  in  Paradise."*  Thou  shalt  be  with  Me  ; 
therefore,  thou  shalt  be  in  Paradise.  After  His 
Ascension,  Paradise  was  heaven  ;  for,  as  we  profess 
in  our  Creed,  "  He  ascended  into  heaven,  and  sitteth 
on  the  right  hand  of  God  the  Father  Almighty." 

Our  Lord's  glorified  humanity  is  not  ubiquitous. 
Locally,  it  is  now  only  in  one  place,  at  the  right  hand 
of  God  the  Father  in  heaven.  Sacramentaily,  supra- 
locally.  His  humanity  is  present  in  the  Blessed 
Sacrament.  But  we  have  no  reason  to  suppose 
that  it  is  present  with  the  souls  in  the  Intermediate 
State.  His  divinity  is  there,  as  everywhere,  but  not 
His  Humanity. 

So  in  these  words  our  Lord  assures  us  that  after 
we  have  left  this  world  of  sin,  and  passed  through  a 
state  of  purification,  we  shall  be  with  Him,  where  He 
is  reigning  with  all  the  saints. 

*  .S.  Luke  xxiii.  43. 


40 


VI. 


THE   QUESTION   OF   S.   THOMAS. 


S.  John  xiv.  4-6. 

"  And  whither  I  go  ye  know,  and  the  way  ye  know.  Thomas  saith 
unto  Him,  Lord,  we  know  not  whither  Thou  goest  ;  and  how  can  we 
know  the  way  ?  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  I  am  the  Way,  the  Truth,  and 
the  Life  :  no  man  cometh  unto  the  Father,  but  by  Me." 

UR  Blessed  Lord,  consoling  His  disciples  in 
their  grief  at  His  departure,  tells  them  that 
He  goes  to  prepare  a  place  for  them  in  His 
Father's  house  ;  that  where  He  is,  they  may  be  with 
Him ;  that  He  is  coming  again,  and  will  receive 
them  unto  Himself.  And  then  He  adds,  "  Whither 
I  go>  ys  know  the  way ; "  for  this  is  the  correct 
reading,  and  not,  as  we  find  in  our  Bible,  "  Whither  I 
go  ye  know,  and  the  way  ye  know." 

Our  Lord  meant  to  remind  them  that  He  had  so 

41 


^  ^ixBt  ZwBba^  in  SLCnt. 

often  told  them  of  the  way  by  which  they  were  to 
follow  Him,  that  they  ought  to  know  it  well.  It  was 
to  be  a  way  of  suffering  and  of  sacrifice,  the  way 
of  the  Holy  Cross  ;  for  how  many  times  He  had 
warned  them  that  no  one  could  be  His  disciple,  who 
did  not  take  up  his  cross  and  follow  Him.  ''  Whither 
I  go,"  He  says,  *'ye  know  the  way."  I  am  going  to 
My  Father  in  heaven  ;  His  house,  in  which  are  the 
many  mansions,  is  My  goal ;  and  the  way  by  which 
I  must  reach  it  is  the  way  of  suffering,  the  way  of 
self-sacrifice  and  love. 

At  this  point  S.  Thomas  interrupts,  and  says, 
"  Lord,  we  know  not  whither  Thou  goest ;  and  how 
know  we  the  way  ? "  (the  word  "  can  "  is  not  found 
in  the  best  text).  It  is  most  interesting  to  observe 
that  the  questions  asked  by  the  different  Apostles 
are  in  strict  accord  with  what  we  know  of  their 
temperament  and  spiritual  character.  S.  Peter's 
question,  "  Why  cannot  I  follow  Thee  now }  I  will 
lay  down  my  life  for  Thy  sake,"'''  is  precisely  the 
utterance  which  might  be  expected  from  one  of  his 
sanguine,  impulsive  nature.  So,  too,  we  shall  find 
that  the  interruption  of  S.  Thomas  is  just  what 
might  be  expected  from  a  man  of  his  natural 
temperament  and  spiritual  development. 

S.    Thomas    is  a  very   distinct  type  of    character 

*  S.  John  xiii.  37, 
42 


t^c  4jue6tton  of  ^.  t^om<XB.  ^^ 

among  our  Lord's  disciples.  He  represents  the 
anxious,  intellectual  seeker  after  truth,  who  has  an 
almost  morbid  fear  of  things  he  cannot  grasp,  and  a 
tendency  to  despondency,  but  with  a  real  love  for  his 
Master.  He  will  not  allow  himself  to  be  carried  by 
enthusiasm  to  say  that  he  believes  more  than  he  does 
believe. 

We  have  an  instance  of  this  in  connection  with  our 
Lord's  visit  to  Bethany  to  raise  Lazarus  from  the 
dead.  When  the  news  came  that  Lazarus  was  sick, 
we  read  that  Christ "  abode  two  days  still  in  the  same 
place  where  He  was.  Then  after  that,  saith  He  to 
His  disciples,  let  us  go  into  Judsea  again.  His 
disciples  say  unto  Him,  Master,  the  Jews  of  late 
sought  to  stone  Thee ;  and  goest  Thou  thither 
again?"  After  answering  this  question,  Christ  said, 
"  Our  friend  Lazarus  sleepeth  ;  but  I  go,  that  I  may 
awake  him  out  of  sleep."  The  disciples  thought  that 
He  spoke  of  taking  of  rest  in  sleep  ;  but  our  Lord 
told  them  plainly  that  Lazarus  was  dead.  And 
S.  Thomas  was  the  first  to  say,  "  Let  us  also  go,  that 
we  may  die  with  Him."* 

If    we   examine    these   words    of    S.    Thomas    in 

connection  with  their  context,  we  shall  observe  that 

they  manifest  the  same  characteristics  which  led  S. 

Thomas    to   interrupt   our    Lord    with   the   remark : 

*  C/.  S.  John  xi.  6-17. 

43 


^  ^ixBt  S^uesbag  in  feenf. 

"  Lord,  we  know  not  whither  Thou  goest ;  and  how 
know  we  the  way  ? "  and  after  His  Resurrection  to 
refuse  to  believe  the  testimony  of  his  fellow-disciples, 
that  Jesus  had  indeed  risen  from  the  dead. 

We  may  notice,  in  regard  to  the  death  of  Lazarus, 
that  S.  Thomas  keeps  strictly  within  the  limits  of 
that  which  he  k7iew.  He  knew  two  things,  the  death 
of  Lazarus  and  the  hostility  of  the  Jews.  Jesus  had 
invited  His  disciples  to  go  with  Him,  saying  that  He 
was  going  to  awaken  Lazarus  out  of  sleep  ;  that  is, 
to  raise  him  from  the  dead.  About  the  raising  from 
the  dead,  S.  Thomas  says  nothing  ;  but  about  the 
hostility  of  the  Jews,  he  realises  that  this  probably 
meant  death  to  his  Master  and  to  those  who  were 
with  Him. 

S.  Thomas  was  no  coward.  He  truly  loved  his 
Master.  Therefore  he  said,  "  Let  us  also  go,  that  we 
may  die  with  Him."  He  did  not  shrink  from  suffering 
with  his  Lord,  but  he  would  not  commit  himself  to 
expressing  a  hope  which  he  did  not  really  possess, 
that  Lazarus  would  be  raised  from  the  dead,  and  that 
his  Master  would  escape  the  hostility  of  the  Jews. 
S.  Thomas  will  die  for  the  love  which  he  has,  the 
love  of  Jesus  Christ,  but  he  will  not  pretend  to  the 
faith  which  he  has  not.  To  follow  Christ  where  He 
goes,  is  the  duty  of  His  disciples,  even  thoui^^h  his 
Master  goes   into  danger.       Therefore    S.    Thomas 

44 


t^c  (XxtCBtion  of  ^.  t^om<XB.  ^ 

says,  "  Let  us  also  go,  that  we  may  die  with 
Him." 

In  the  third  passage  in  S.  John's  Gospel,  in  which 
S.  Thomas  is  introduced  to  us,  we  find  him 
deliberately  rejecting  the  testimony  of  his  fellow- 
disciples  concerning  Christ's  Resurrection,  and 
saying,  "  Except  I  shall  see  in  His  hands  the  print 
of  the  nails,  and  put  my  finger  into  the  print  of  the 
nails,  and  thrust  my  hand  into  His  side,  I  will  not 
believe."*  S.  Thomas  refuses  human  testimony, 
though  it  was  the  testimony  of  so  many  of  his 
friends,  and  demands  the  evidence  of  his  own 
senses — the  senses  of  sight  and  touch.  Jesus,  in 
consideration  of  his  natural  difficulty  of  faith,  offers 
him  the  evidence  for  which  he  asks,  but  adds, 
reproachfully,  "  Because  thou  hast  seen  Me,  thou 
hast  believed  :  blessed  are  they  that  have  not  seen, 
and  yet  have  believed."f 

Altogether,  we  may  consider  S.  Thomas  as  a  type 
of  one  who  loved  Christ,  and  was  faithful  to  Christ, 
but  who  saw  intellectual  difficulties  at  every  step,  and 
was  too  honest  to  pretend  that  he  did  not  see  them. 
Very  probably  S.  Thomas  looked  for  the  establish- 
ment of  Christ's  Messianic  kingdom  on  earth  ;  so 
that,  when  our  Lord  spoke  of  His  departure,  S. 
Thomas  said,  in  effect :  All  we  know  is,  that  Thou 

*  S.  John  XX.  25.  t  S.  John  xx,  29. 

45 


-^^  :S'ir6f  Jue0bag  in  £enf. 

art  going  to  leave  us  ;  for  that  Thou  hast  told  us  ; 
but  whither  Thou  art  going  we  know  not.  Wilt 
Thou  go  to  the  dispersed  among  the  Gentiles  ?  Art 
Thou  s^oincf  to  restore  the  kin^rdom  to  Israel  ? 
Thou  hast  told  us  that  Thou  art  to  be  "lifted  up  ;" 
but  how  is  this  exaltation  to  take  place  ?  Thou  hast 
told  us  that  Thou  art  going  ;  but  whither  art  Thou 
going,  and  by  what  way  ? 

To  some  like  S.  Thomas,  inclined  to  find  the 
difficulties  in  revelation,  rather  than  to  see,  as  others 
do,  its  positive  truth,  the  objections  of  S.  Thomas 
may  seem  reasonable,  and  our  Lord's  answer  may 
appear  to  be  wanting  in  directness.  But  this  is  only 
because  they  are  so  occupied  with  the  superficial 
form  of  the  answer  that  they  fail  to  grasp  its  com- 
prehensive significance  ;  for  when  our  Lord  replies, 
*  I  am  the  Way,  the  Truth,  and  the  Life  :  no  man 
Cometh  unto  the  Father,  but  by  Mc.  If  ye  had 
known  Me,  ye  should  have  known  My  Father  also  : 
from  henceforth  ye  know  Him,  and  have  seen  Him," 
He  not  only  answers  the  question  of  S.  Thomas,  but 
does  more — answers  the  difficulty  which  is  really 
contained  in  the  question. 

The  statement  of  S.  Thomas  was  twofold  :  Wc 
do  not  know  whither  Thou  art  going;  how  can  we 
know  the  way?  Wc  do  not  know  the  goal,  or  end, 
of  Th)'  journey.     How,  then,  can  wc  know  the  way 

46 


t^t  ^ueation  of  ^.  ^^omctB.  ^ 

by  which  it  is  to  be  reached  ?  Incidentally,  and  yet 
most  clearly,  our  Lord,  in  the  second  part  of  the 
verse,  states  the  Goal,  or  End,  of  His  journey.  It 
is  the  Father — "  No  man  cometh  unto  the  Father, 
but  by  Me."  They  ought  to  have  known  this  ;  for 
He  had  already  told  them,  "  In  My  Father's  house 
are  many  mansions  .  .  .  I  go  to  prepare  a  place 
for  you."*  But  it  was  of  more  real  importance  that 
they  should  know  the  waj'  by  which  they  were  to 
follow  Him,  not  immediately,  but  afterwards ;  the 
way  which  was  to  bring  them  to  those  many 
mansions,  the  way  which  was  to  bring  them  to  that 
goal  of  life — itself  the  true  end  for  which  they  had 
been  created. 

As  we  have  said,  our  Lord  did  reveal  the  end,  or 
goal.  And  yet,  this  was  not  the  important  question, 
since  faith  must  be  content  to  follow  step  by  step 
where  it  is  led,  and  to  wait  until  the  goal  is  reached, 
and  the  end  is  revealed. 

"  Lead,  kindly  Light;  I  do  not  ask  to  see 
The  distant  scene ;  one  step  enough  for  me." 

S.  Thomas  was  unwilling  to  take  the  one  step, 
unless  he  could  see  where  it  was  to  lead  him,  unless 
he  could  know  the  far-off  end. 

"  I  am  the  Way,  the  Truth,  and  the  Life."     The 

*  S.  John  xiv.  2. 

47 


^  "SixBt  S^ueebag  in  SLCnt. 

three  terms  here  are  not  co-ordinate.  The  latter  two 
are  the  unfolding,  or  explication  of  the  first.  "  I  am 
the  Way,"  signifies  that  Christ  is  the  means,  or  way, 
by  which  all  are  to  come  to  the  Father.  And  He  is 
the  means,  or  way,  because  He  is  the  Truth  and  the 
Life. 

Among  the  types  of  Christ  in  the  Old  Testament, 
few  are  more  prominent  than  the  Ark  of  the 
Covenant,  which  contained,  as  we  are  told,  three 
things — the  Rod  of  Aaron,  which  blossomed  ;  the 
Tables  of  the  Law,  on  which  God  had  written  the 
Ten  Commandments  ;  and  the  Pot  of  Manna.* 

The  Rod  typifies  Christ  as  the  Way,  the  staff  for 
the  journey  of  life,  the  staff  of  discipline.  "  Yea, 
though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death,  I  will  fear  no  evil  :  for  Thou  art  with  me ; 
Thy  rod  and  Thy  staff  comfort  me."f  The  Tables 
of  the  Law,  which  God  gave  from  Sinai,  symbolise 
Christ  as  the  Truth,  the  eternal  Truth,  which  is  to 
guide  us  in  all  our  actions  ;  of  which  Christ  said, 
'  Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  destroy  the  law  .  .  . 
I  am  not  come  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfil  (fill  out,  or 
complete)."}: 

And  the   Pot  of  Manna  represents  Christ  as  the 

*  Cf.  Ileb.  ix.  4;  I'^x.  xvi.  H,  34;  Numb.  xvii.  lO  ;  Ex.  xxv.  16; 
Deut.  x.  5. 

t  Psalm  xxiii.  4.  %   S.  Matt.  v.  17. 

4B 


€^c  ^ucBiion  of  ^.  Z^ottKXB.  ^ 

Life ;  for  He  said,  "  I  am  the  bread  of  life ; "  and 
again,  **  I  am  the  living  bread  which  came  down  from 
heaven  :  if  any  man  eat  of  this  bread,  he  shall  live  for 
ever :  and  the  bread  that  I  will  give  is  My  flesh 
for  the  life  of  the  world."* 

After  Christ's  answer,  S.  Thomas  remains  silent  ; 
perhaps,  in  order  that  he  may  ponder  over  and 
reflect  upon  our  Lord's  words. 

*  S.  John  vi.  35-51. 


49  E 


VII. 


CHRIST   AS   THE   WAY. 


S.  John  xiv.  6. 

"  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  I  am  the  Way,  the  Truth,  and  the  Life  :  no 
man  cometh  unto  the  Father,  but  by  Me." 


THOMAS  asked  to  know  whither  his 
Master  was  going.  Christ  reph'es,  that  the 
important  matter  is  to  know  the  zuaj^  by 
which  they  may  attain  to  the  end  or  goal  of  their 
journey  ;  although  He  does  repeat  what  He  had 
told  them  before,  that  the  End  is  the  Father — His 
Father  and  their  Father.  And  of  this  He  reminds 
them  again  in  the  message  which  He  sends  to 
them  on  Easter  morning,  by  S.  Mary  Magdalene, 
"  I  am  ascending  unto  My  Father,  and  your  Father ; 
and  to  My  God,  and  your  God."* 

*  S.  John  XX.  17. 
50 


He  is  the  only  Way  by  which  the  goal  can  be 
reached.  "  No  man  cometh  unto  the  Father,  but 
by"  (through)  "Me."  He  is  the  Way  by  which 
God  and  man  are  united  ;  by  which  earth  and 
Heaven  are  joined  ;  by  which  time  and  eternity  are 
bridged. 

Christianity  differs  from  all  other  religions, 
especially  in  this ;  that  it  demands  faith  in  a 
Person,  and  not  merely  in  a  system  of  teaching. 
In  this  Christianity  stands  absolutely  alone,  that  it 
requires  faith  in  the  Person  of  Jesus  Christ.  He 
is  ''the  Way,  the  Truth,  and  the  Life." 

When  S.  Paul  was  preaching  to  the  Athenians 
on  Areopagus,  we  are  told  that  he  preached  unto 
them  "Jesus,  and  the  resurrection."*  He  preached 
to  them,  not  a  system  of  philosophy,  not  a  code 
of  morals,  but  faith  in  a  living  Person,  Jesus,  Who 
had  risen  from  the  dead. 

He  is  the  Way  to  the  knowledge  of  God.  No 
man  can  come  to  know  God,  but  through  knowing 
Christ  ;  as  He  says,  "If  ye  had  known  Me,  ye 
should  have  known  My  Father  also."t  He  is  the 
Way  to  the  knowledge  of  God,  not  only  because 
He  teaches  us  about  God,  but  because  He  reveals 
the  Father  in  Himself.  As  He  afterwards  said  to 
S.  Philip,  '*  He  that  hath  seen  Me  hath  seen  the 
Father."! 

*  Acts  xvii.  1 8.         t  S.  John  xiv.  7.         %  S.  John  xiv.  9. 

51 


^  ^econb  TJJebneebaj  in  £enf. 

Hence,  it  is  not  enough  to  study  the  words  of 
Christ,  important  though  that  may  be.  We  must 
study  Christ  Himself;  we  must  come  to  know  Him 
if  we  are  to  know  His  Father,  if  we  are  to  know 
God. 

One  of  the  passions  most  deeply  implanted  in 
human  nature  is  the  passion  of  curiosity,  the  thirst 
for  knowledge.  We  strive  to  gratify  it  from  the 
first  hours  of  our  conscious  existence.  And  as  the 
child  grows  into  the  man,  if  that  thirst  be  not 
destroyed  by  sin,  it  will  impel  the  intellect  into 
new  fields  of  investigation,  until  at  last  it  leads  the 
mind  to  the  knowledge  of  God  in  Christ. 

Each  man  should  be  like  the  pearl  merchant  in 
the  parable,  "  seeking  goodly  pearls  ;  "*  seeking  them 
in  many  regions  of  knowledge,  in  many  kingdoms 
of  nature  ;  finding,  with  joy,  pearls  of  truth,  and 
yet  always  feeling  that  there  is  something  more, 
something  beyond  ;  until  he  learns  at  last  that  the 
one  Pearl  of  great  price,  without  which  the  heart 
of  man  can  never  rest  satisfied,  is  the  knowledge 
of  God  ;  and  finds  this  knowledge,  finally,  in  Christ, 
Who  is  the  only  Way  by  which  a  man  can  come 
to  the  Father. 

But  man  has  not  only  an  intellect,  and  therefore 
the  passion   of  curiosity,  the  desire   for  knowledge. 

*   Cf.  S.  Mall.  xiii.  45,  46. 
52 


He  has  also  a  heart,  and  therefore  the  passion  of 
love,  the  desire  to  possess,  and  to  be  possessed  by, 
the  object  of  his  love.  It  is  not  enough  for  a  man 
to  know  God,  or,  rather,  to  know  that  there  is  a 
God  ;  it  is  not  sufficient  for  a  man  to  know  al^out 
God,  he  must  know  by  experience  something  of 
God's  character  and  attributes.  Man  craves  to  love 
God,  to  possess  God,  to  be  possessed  by  God  ;  in  a 
word,  man  desires,  above  all  things,  union  with 
God.  And  as  Christ  is  the  Way  to  the  knowledge 
of  God,  so  is  He  the  only  Way  by  which  a  man 
may  attain  to  union  with  God,  and  this  in  a  two- 
fold manner. 

(i)  Man  craves  to  be  united  with  God,  but 
recognises,  as  the  insuperable  obstacle  to  that  union, 
his  own  sin.  He  is  alienated  from  God  by  sin,  and 
he  realises  that  it  is  only  by  the  removal  of  his 
sin  that  he  can  be  made  one  with  God.  And 
Christ  comes  to  pay  the  penalty  of  sin,  to  expiate 
it,  to  reconcile  God  and  man,  to  atone  for  sin,  and 
so  to  make  God  and  man  at  one  again.  Christ, 
then,  is  the  Way  to  the  union  with  God,  through 
His  Passion  on  the  Cross,  by  which  He  took  away 
the  sins  of  the  world,  by  which  He  removed  the 
obstacle  to  man's  approach  to  God. 

(2)  This,  however,  is  not  all.  It  is  only  the 
negative  part  of  the  work  of  union,  the  taking  away 

53 


of  the  sin  which  alienated  man  from  God,  the 
removal  of  the  hindrance  to  his  union  with  God. 
There  is  something  more,  something  greater.  By 
sacramental  incorporation  into  Christ,  through 
Baptism,  that  union  is  begun  ;  and  by  feeding  upon 
Christ,  especially  in  the  Holy  Eucharist,  the  union 
grows,  and  is  perfected.  And  so,  in  this  way  also, 
the  second  great  passion  of  man's  nature  is 
satisfied  ;  and,  through  Christ,  man  is  enabled  to 
love  God,  to  possess  God,  and  to  be  possessed  by 
Him, 

But  yet  again  Christ  is  the  Way,  because  He  is 
our  Example.  S.  Peter  teaches  us  that  we  become 
"  partakers  of  the  divine  nature."*  That  is,  of 
course,  through  Baptism  ;  so  that,  having  become 
"  partakers  of  the  divine  nature "  (that  is,  being 
"in  Christ"),  we  may  follow  the  example  of  His 
perfect  manhood,  we  may  become  godlike,  not  only 
in  nature,  but  in  character. 

Hence,  at  every  step,  Christ  is  the  Way  ;  for  He 
is  not  only  the  Means  by  which  we  approach  the 
Father,  but  the  Example,  by  following  Whom  we 
become  Christ-like,  and  therefore  godlike.  "  Follow 
Me,"  He  said  ;  and  this  command  implies  some- 
thing   more    than    enrolling    ourselves    under    His 

*  2  S.  Peter  i.  4. 

54 


banner.     It  means  following  His  example,  walking 
in  the    Waj/. 

S.  Paul  tells  us  that,  if  any  man  is  "  in  Christ," 
he  is  a  new  creature  ;*  and  further  says,  that  the 
effect  of  our  being  "in  Christ,"  or  baptised,  ought 
to  be  manifested  by  our  walking  in  "  newness  of 
life."t 

Every  day,  then,  of  our  journey  heavenward  we 
find  Christ  is  the  Way,  the  Way  by  which  we  are 
to  advance,  slowly  but  surely,  to  the  End,  the 
Father,  where  He  Himself  waits  for  us,  that  He 
may  present  us  to  the  Father  as  redeemed  by  His 
precious  blood,  made  partakers  of  His  divine 
nature,  moulded  in  character  after  the  example  of 
His  holy  life,  and  so  meet  to  be  the  children  of 
God  throughout  eternity. 

*   Cf.  2  Cor.  V.  17.  t  Rom.  vi.  4. 


55 


VIII. 


CHRIST    AS    THE    TRUTH. 


S.  John  xiv.  6. 

"  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  I  am  the  Way,  the  Truth,  and  the  Lite  :  no 
man  cometh  unto  the  Father,  but  by  Me." 


S  vvc  have    already   observed,    Christ   is   the 
Way,   because    He  is   the    Truth    and    the 
Life.      Let    us     consider    each    of    these 
attributes  separately. 

He  is  the  Truth,  first  and  in  the  most  absolute 
sense,  because  He  is  Eternal  Truth,  God.  Truth 
with  Him,  therefore,  is  not  a  gift  acquired  or 
bestowed,  but  is  His  essential  character  ;  for  God's 
so-called  attributes  differ  from  those  of  man,  in 
that  they  are  all  essential  to  God.  God  is  Truth, 
and  Mercy,  and  Love.     He  docs  not  merely  possess 

5C 


these  characteristics  in  such  a  way  that  we  could 
conceive  of  His  being  without  them  ;  they  are  His 
essential  being. 

Christ,  therefore,  does  not  say,  what  I  teach  you 
is  true,  but  I  am  the  Truth  ;  because  He  does 
not  say,  believe  in  My  teachings,  but,  believe  in 
Me.  He  demands  faith  in  His  Person,  not  only 
in  His  doctrine.  But,  not  only  is  He  Himself  the 
Truth,  but  the  purpose  of  His  life  was  to  bear 
witness  to  truth.  At  that  great  moment  when  He 
stood  before  the  Roman  Procurator  Pontius  Pilate, 
and  was  asked  by  him  the  question,  "  Art  Thou 
a  king  then  ?  Jesus  answered.  Thou  sayest  it, 
because  I  am  a  king.  To  this  end  have  I  been 
born,  and  for  this  purpose  am  I  come  into  the 
world,  that  I  should  bear  witness  unto  the  truth. 
Every  one  that  is  of  the  truth  heareth  My  voice."* 

How  faithfully  He  bore  witness  to  truth,  how 
fearlessly  He  died  for  truth,  the  Gospels  teach  us  ; 
and  in  the  book  of  Revelation  His  title,  twice 
repeated,  is  "the  faithful  witness,"f  "the  faithful 
and  true  witness. "J 

If  we  are  to  follow  the  example  of  Christ,  surely 
we  must  be  witnesses  to  truth.  This  must  be  the 
great  end  and  purpose  of  our  lives.  And  yet,  how 
many  there  are  who  either  think  that  truth  is  very 

*  S.  John  xviii.  37.         f  Rev.  i.  5.         |  Rev.  iii.  14. 

57 


unimportant,  or  that  truth  is  unattainable.  Some 
devote  their  lives  to  the  investigation  of  truths  of 
secondary  importance,  of  mere  phenomena,  about 
the  real  cause  of  which  they  are  content  to  be 
ignorant.  They  spend  their  time  in  studying  in- 
dividual facts,  and  drawing  from  them  unimportant 
generalisations.  But  the  supreme  truth  regarding 
our  own  nature,  regarding  the  character  of  God, 
and  His  purposes  for  us,  the  truth  which  relates 
not  only  to  time  but  to  eternity — in  regard  to  this 
truth  they  are  satisfied  to  know  nothing  ! 

Some,  it  is  true,  will  contend  that  nothing  can 
be  known  of  these  things,  that  God  has  never 
given  to  man  any  revelation.  For  such  we  can 
only  have  great  pity.  To  Christians  they  seem 
like  the  blind  mole,  who  is  content  with  his  burrow 
in  the  earth.  The  mole  is  content,  because  he  cannot 
see,  and  has  no  cravings  for  anything  which  he  does 
not  possess.  But  the  intellect  of  man  can  never 
be  content  with  such  an  answer ;  for  the  very 
passion  of  curiosity,  which  impels  man  to  seek  an 
answer  to  the  great  questions  of  his  soul's  life, 
assures  man  that  He  who  implanted  that  passion 
in  him  intends  it  to  be  satisfied  in  the  revelation 
of  His  Son  Jesus  Christ,   Who  is  the  Truth. 

Yes,  Jesus   Qmst  is_the^  Tnjth^__^^  is 

the  revelation  of  God    to   the  world.     All  truth  is 

58 


in  God,  and  all  truth  is  revealed  to  us  in  Christ ; 
for  in  Him  is  summed  up  all  that  is  eternal  and 
absolute  in  the  changing  phenomena  of  finite  being. 
He  is  the  revelation  of  the  Father  ;  and  this,  not 
so  much  on  account  of  what  he  tells  us  in  His 
teachings  of  the  Father's  character,  as  that  He 
reveals  the  Father's  character  in  His  own  life,  mani- 
festing those  attributes  of  God,  which  it  is  most 
important  that  we  should  know.  So,  in  the  next 
verse  Christ  says,  "  If  ye  had  known  Me,  ye  should 
have  known  My  Father  also  :  and  from  henceforth 
ye  know  Him,  and  have  seen   Him." 

There  was  but  one  way  in  which  man  could 
ever  come  to  know  God,  and  that  was  through  the 
Incarnation.  "  The  Word  became  flesh,  and  dwelt 
among  us  ;  "*  and  from  the  study  of  His  life  and 
the  knowledge  of  His  Person,  we  come  to  know 
God's  character. 

We  learn  God's  purposes  of  love  in  Christ's 
sacrifice  upon  the  Cross  ;  His  goodness  and  mercy, 
in  the  actions  of  His  life ;  and  God's  power,  in 
His  victory  over  sin  and  death.  In  proportion  as 
we  know  Christ,  we  shall  know  the  Father.  There 
is  no  other  Way  by  which  we  can  come  to  the 
Father,  but  through  Christ. 

We  have    referred    to    the  thirst    of    the  soul  for 

*  S.  John  i.  14. 

59 


truth  as  an  evidence  that  truth  must  be  attainable  ; 
for  it  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  conceive  of 
the  existence  of  an  appetite  for  which  there  is  no 
possibility  of  satisfaction.  Hunger  connotes  the 
existence  of  food  ;  thirst  of  drink  ;  and  so  on  with 
every  appetite  of  our  nature. 

Why,  then,  should  the  religious  appetite  be  the 
only  exception,  the  thirst  for  God  alone  be  without 
any  means  by  which  it  may  be  satisfied  ?  He  Who 
made  man,  and  implanted  in  man  the  various 
appetites  of  his  nature,  also  supplied  man  with  the 
means  of  gratifying  each  one.  Why,  then,  should 
He  have  implanted  in  man  that  craving  to  know 
the  mystery  of  His  Being,  that  thirst  for  truth, 
which  is  so  noticeable  in  every  soul,  if  He  never 
intended  to  gratify  it  ? 

The  history  of  philosophy  is  the  history  of  man's 
attempt  to  solve  the  riddle  of  his  existence,  by  his 
own  unaided  intellect,  and  without  recourse  to 
revelation.  And  what  is  the  history  of  philosophy  ? 
The  history  of  various  systems,  each  of  which 
undertook  to  solve  the  problem  of  man's  life ;  the 
history  of  great  minds  who  have  turned  all  the 
powers  of  their  intellect  upon  the  greatest  of  all 
subjects,  and  after  years  of  laborious  thought  have 
cried,  "  Eureka ! "  and  have  given  to  the  world  a 
system  of  philosophy  ;    who   have  gathered  around 

60 


them  disciples,  and  have  founded  schools,  and 
have  passed  away!  And  another  great  mind  has 
come,  and  picked  to  pieces  their  system,  has 
pointed  out  its  fallacies,  and  proposed  another 
system  as  a  substitute  for  it.  And  the  world  has 
accepted  this,  until  some  one  else  has  treated  it 
in  the  same  manner,  and  swept  it  aside.  Each, 
perhaps,  has  contributed  some  elements  of  truth 
which  have  remained,  as  truth  always  does  remain, 
but  they  have  only  been  a  few  grains  amid  bushels 
of  chaff. 

If  there  is  one  thing  which  the  history  of 
philosophy  teaches  us,  surely  it  is  that  philosophy 
can  never  lead  man  to  absolute  truth ;  that  the 
human  mind,  unaided,  is  doomed  to  wander  in  the 
schools  of  philosophy,  chasing  the  phantom  which 
always  eludes  its  grasp !  The  very  fact  that 
systems  of  philosophy  are  always  changing,  that 
no  one  has  ever  lasted,  ought  to  be,  one  would 
think,  sufficient  to  prevent  any  man  from  resting 
in  them. 

But  turn  from  philosophy  to  the  revelation  of 
God  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  what  a  contrast  we 
behold !  Nearly  two  thousand  years  have  passed 
since  it  was  given  to  the  world,  the  most  profound 
minds  of  every  age  have  been  occupied  in  its  study ; 
and  with  what  result  ?      Not   one   of  its  doctrines 

6i 


•^  ^econb  2^^ut6bag  in  £enf. 

has  been  changed  or  proved  to  be  untrue.  Men, 
by  prayer  and  study  have  come  to  understand  it 
better,  and  to  find  in  it,  with  the  changing 
difficulties  of  centuries,  the  solution  of  all  life's 
problems. 

He  Who  said,  "  I  am  the  truth,"  also  said,  ''  If 
any  man  thirst,  let  him  come  unto  Me,  and  drink."* 
In  the  knowledge  of  Him  can  be  quenched  the  thirst 
of  our  soul  for  truth ;  but  that  knowledge  must 
be  acquired  gradually,  and  involves  labour.  The 
disciples,  who  had  been  with  our  Lord  some  three 
years,  had  not  all  come  to  know  Him  in  the  same 
measure.  It  is  true,  they  had  not  then  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  guide  them  into  all  truth,  as  we  have. 
But  some  of  them  had  come  to  know  Him  better 
than  others  ;  S.  Peter  and  S.  John,  better  than 
S.  Thomas  and  S.  Philip. 

If  we  are  to  attain  the  truth,  we  must  seek  after 
it ;  we  must  be  like  the  "  merchant  man,  seeking 
goodly  pearls. "f  He  found  many,  but  he  was  not 
satisfied  till  he  found  the  one  pearl  of  great  price. 
Then  he  was  content  to  sell  all  that  he  had,  that 
he  might  possess  it.  This  parable  is  the  history 
of  many  a  great  soul  ;  it  portrays  the  experience 
of  many  a  mighty  intellect.  It  is  the  epitome, 
for  instance,  of  the  life  of  S.  Augustine,  who,  seeking 

*  S.  John  vii.  37.  f   C/.  S.  Matt.  xiii.  45,  46. 

62 


after  truth,  passed  through  many  forms  ot  error 
and  partial  truth,  until  at  last  he  attained  unto 
the  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  then  bore 
witness  to  the  fact  that  in  Him  he  found  the  Truth 
which  satisfied  his  whole  nature.  His  well-known 
words  sum  up  the  experience  of  almost  every  great 
soul,  "  Thou  hast  made  us  for  Thyself,  and  our 
heart  is  restless,  until  it  rests  in  Thee."* 

*  S.  Aug.  "Confess.  ;"  Migne,  P.  L.  xxxii.,  col.  66i. 


63 


IX. 

^econb  Stibdg  in  &cnt. 


CHRIST    AS    THE    LIFE. 


S.  John  xiv.  6. 

"  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  I  am  the  Way,  the  Truth,  and  the  Life  :  no 
man  cometh  unto  the  Father,  but  by  Me." 

HRIST  is  not  only  the  Truth,  but  the  Life. 
As  He  is  the  Truth  because  He  is  God  ;  so 
is  He  the  Life  because  He  is  God.  "  As 
the  Father  hath  Hfe  in  Himself;  so  hath  He  given  to 
the  Son  to  have  life  in  Himself."*  He  is  the  Life 
because  He  is  God,  and  because  God  is  the  only 
self-existent  Being.  Every  other  living  creature 
derives  its  life  from  some  other  life.  God  alone 
is  underived  ;  God  alone  is  self-existent ;  God  alone 
is  Life. 

But  God,  in  His  infinite  love,  has  given  to  us,  His 

*  S.  John  V.  26. 

64 


creatures,  to  have  life,  to  have  even  eternal  life, 
though  that  life  is  not  underived  like  the  life  of  God  ; 
for  we  read  that,  "  The  gift  of  God  is  eternal  life 
through  Jesus  Christ."*  And  our  Lord  says,  "  I  am 
the  resurrection,  and  the  life  ;  "f  and,  speaking  of 
His  sheep,  says,  "  I  give  unto  them  eternal  life ;  and 
they  shall  never  perish,  neither  shall  any  man  pluck 
them  out  of  My  hand."J 

What  a  mystery  life  is  in  all  its  phases  :  physical 
life — the  life  of  the  body,  the  life  which  is  interrupted 
by  physical  death ;  mental  life — the  life  of  the 
intellect,  which  is  not  interrupted  by  death  ;  spiritual 
life — the  life  of  the  soul,  which  also  is  eternal ! 

Who  can  tell  us  what  life  is,  except  that  it  is  the 
gift  of  God  ;  that  it  comes  from  Him  Who  is  Life  ; 
that  it  depends  upon  Him  for  its  conservation  and 
continuance  ?  In  other  words,  that  our  life  of  body, 
and  mind,  and  soul,  is  an  effect,  of  which  God  is  the 
continuous  cause.  But  there  is  a  link  between  the 
effect  and  its  cause,  a  condition  which  God  imposed 
when  He  gave,  first,  the  gift  of  life  ;  a  condition, 
upon  the  fulfilment  of  which  not  only  the  continuance, 
but  the  perfection  of  life  in  all  its  phases,  depends, 
the  condition  of  food. 

The  fact  that  we  must  eat  to  live,  is  one  of  the 
universal    facts    of    the   world's    life.       The    tiniest 

*  Rom.  vi.  23.  t  S.  John  xi.  25.  J  S.  John  x.  28. 

65  F 


^  ^econb  S^ibag  in  B!,cnt 

vegetable,  as  well  as  the  largest  animal,  can  retain 
the  gift  of  life  but  for  a  few  days,  unless  it  fulfil 
the  God-imposed  condition,  that  it  eaf.  And  this 
condition  applies,  not  only  to  the  life  of  the  body, 
but  to  the  life  of  the  mind  and  of  the  soul.  All  are 
effects,  of  which  God  is  the  Cause,  and  in  each  case 
food  is  the  link  between  the  Cause  and  effect,  the 
link  which  cannot  be  ignored  without  the  forfeiture 
of  life. 

Not  only  does  the  body  starve  without  food,  but 
the  mind  also.  Food,  surely,  we  may  say,  is 
something  taken  from  without,  and  assimilated  by 
us  through  certain  processes  of  digestion.  The 
mind  of  the  infant  unfolds  and  develops  by  feeding 
upon  the  outer  world,  by  investigating  the  sights  and 
sounds  around  it.  After  awhile  it  makes  more  rapid 
progress  by  feeding  upon  the  experiences  of  others. 
If  a  child  were  shut  up  in  a  room  where  it  never  saw 
or  heard  anything  of  the  outer  world,  its  intellectual 
life  would  be  dwarfed,  it  could  be  scarcely  called 
intellectual  life  at  all.  So,  too,  is  it  with  the  soul  ; 
it  has  need  of  food,  and  that  food  is  the  Word 
of  God,  Jesus  Christ. 

As  we  have  seen,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  said,  "  I 
am  the  resurrection,  and  the  life  ;  "  and,  speaking  of 
those  who  believed  on  Him — "  I  give  unto  them 
eternal  life."    And  we  find  that  He  most  emphatically 

66 


Christ  <X6  iU  &ife.  ^ 

connects  this  gift  of  life  with  feeding  upon  His  Body 
He  says,  "  I  am  the  living  bread  which  came  down 
from  Heaven  :  if  any  man  eat  of  this  bread,  he  shall 
live  for  ever :  and  the  bread  that  I  will  give  is  My 
flesh,  for  the  life  of  the  world."  "  Verily,  verily,  I 
say  unto  you,  Except  ye  eat  the  flesh  of  the  Son  of 
Man,  and  drink  His  blood,  ye  have  no  life  in  you. 
Whoso  eateth  My  flesh,  and  drinketh  My  blood,  hath 
eternal  life ;  and  I  will  raise  him  up  at  the  last 
day."^^ 

We  shall  observe  here  that  our  Lord  confines  the 
gift  of  life  to  those  who  feed  on  His  flesh  ;  that  He 
actually  asserts  that  those  who  do  not  eat  His  flesh 
have  no  life  in  them.  And  He  further  associates  the 
resurrection  of  the  dead  and  eternal  life  with  this 
feeding  upon  His  flesh. 

But  we  may  approach  this  subject  from  quite 
another  point  of  view.  The  fact  that  we  must  eat 
to  live,  is  such  a  commonplace  in  life,  that  in  our 
familiarity  with  it  we  often  fail  to  realise  what  an 
enormous  factor  food  is,  not  only  in  the  physical  life 
of  man,  but  in  his  moral  and  spiritual  well-being.  It 
teaches  man  many  lessons  which  he  needs  to  learn  ; 
and  it  not  only  teaches ^  but  enforces  its  lessons. 
Indeed,  we  may  assert  that  food  is  the  principal 
natural  instrument  in  man's  progress  in  this  life,  the 
*  S.  Johnvi.  51,  53,  54. 
67 


chief  agent  for  making  him  what  God  purposes  man 
to  be.  Almost  every  step  forward  in  his  development, 
physical  and  moral,  may  be  traced  to  some  law  of 
food. 

But  it  stops  not  with  its  work  upon  man  as  an 
individual  ;  it  deals  with  him  as  a  social  being,  and 
impels  him  continually  on  the  road  to  civilisation. 
But  more  still,  it  helps  to  develop  his  moral  being, 
and  guides  his  spiritual  appetites  towards  God. 
Indeed,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say,  as  we  study  the 
laws  of  food  in  relation  to  man,  that  the  condition, 
that  every  one  must  eat  to  live,  was  imposed  by  God 
as  a  means  of  preparing  man  for  the  great  gift  of 
eternal  life,  and  the  joys  of  union  with  God  in 
Heaven.  Let  us  briefly  examine  some  of  these 
laws. 

Food  teaches  man  that  he  is  dependent ;  depen- 
dent upon  his  fellow-man,  and  still  more  upon  God. 
It  absolutely  contradicts  and  forbids  the  dream  of 
independence  which  is  so  dear  to  man's  pride.  Man 
cannot  live  without  food  for  one  day,  without 
beginning  to  suffer  the  pangs  of  hunger  ;  he  cannot 
live  thus  for  one  week,  without  endangering  his  life ; 
and  to  obtain  the  food  he  eats  he  is  dependent  on 
others — on  those  who  employ  him,  and  so  furnish 
him  with  the  means  of  purchasing  food,  and  on  those 
who  work  for  him,  and  so  provide  him  with  the  food 

68 


he  purchases.  Left  alone  in  his  primeval  condition, 
man  doubtless  procured  food  for  himself;  but  now 
he  has  become  quite  dependent  upon  his  fellow-men. 
And  still  more  is  he  dependent  upon  God,  Who 
gives  or  withholds  the  rain  and  the  sunshine,  upon 
which  the  blessings  of  harvest  depend. 

Again,  food  teaches  man  the  necessity  of  labour  ; 
he  must  work  if  he  is  to  eat ;  and,  if,  by  the 
accident  of  wealth,  he  is  dispensed  from  the  need 
of  actually  working  himself,  his  very  wealth  repre- 
sents the  accumulation  of  the  work  of  others. 
Without  labour  man  cannot  eat,  and  therefore 
cannot  live. 

At  this  point  we  may  notice  the  effect  of  food 
upon  man's  mental  development ;  for  all  labour- 
savinsf  devices  which  are  the  result  of  man's 
intellectual  ingenuity  can  be  ultimately  traced  back 
to  expedients  for  producing  more  easily  the 
necessities  of  life,  which  may  be  summed  up  under 
the  head  of  food. 

But  we  may  also  notice  the  influence  of  food  in 
the  social  sphere.  The  common  meal  becomes  the 
symbol  of  union,  and  binds  man  to  his  fellow-man  in 
the  ties  of  aUiance  and  friendship.  And  when  the 
meal  partakes  of  a  religious  character,  it  is  the 
means  of  man's  union  with  God — looked  upon  as 
a  sacrifice,   it   removes  the  obstacles  to  union  with 

69 


'^  ^econb  Sy^bdg  in  &enf> 

God  caused  by  sin  ;  and,  regarded  as  a  Sacrament,  it 
becomes  the  instrument  by  which  man  is  brought 
into  closest  communion  with  God. 

These  are  but  a  few  of  the  lines  along  which 
we  may  trace  the  work  food  accomplishes  in  making 
man  what  God  would  have  him  to  be  ;  and  all  these 
lines  meet  in  the  Person  and  work  of  Jesus  Christ, 
Who  is  the  Bread  of  life  and  the  Food  of  man. 
Food  taught  man  the  law  of  dependence  upon  his 
fellow-man  and  upon  God.  And  surely  this  was 
the  great  lesson  of  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ,  Who 
said,  ^'  My  meat  is  to  do  the  will  of  Him  that 
sent  Me,  and  to  accomplish  His  work;"*  Who 
taught  absolute  dependence  upon  God,  and  also 
enjoined  subjection  to  those  in  authority  in  this 
world.  The  dream  of  independence  finds  no  support 
in  our  Lord's  teaching  ;  on  the  contrary,  its  keynote 
is,  "  Whosoever  exalteth  himself  shall  be  abased  ; 
and  he  that  humbleth  himself  shall  be  exalted."t 

Food  taught  man  the  necessity  of  labour  ;  and 
the  Son  of  God  came  into  the  world  as  a  labouring 
Man,  rising  early,  and  late  taking  rest,  saying,  "  I 
must  work  the  works  of  Him  that  sent  Me,  while 
it  is  day  :  the  night  cometh,  when  no  man  can 
work."t 

Food,  too,   had    its   effect    upon   man   as  a  social 

*  S.  John  iv.  34.  t  S.  Luke  xiv.  1 1.  J  S.  John  ix.  4. 

70 


being,  becoming  the  bond  of  union  with  his  fellow- 
man,  and  the  instrument  of  sacrifice  and  communion 
with  God.  And  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  above  all, 
came  to  teach  men  that  they  are  brethren,  to 
bind  them  together  in  the  bonds  of  love.  And 
further,  He  came  to  be  the  Sacrifice  Which  should 
take  away  the  sin  of  the  world,  and  should  make 
God  and  man  at  one.  And  in  the  Sacrament  of 
the  Eucharist  He  not  only  becomes  the  Food  of 
man's  soul,  but  the  Means  by  which  man  is  united 
to  God. 

All  the  laws,  therefore,  of  food  seem  to  have 
prepared  the  human  race  for  this  great  revelation 
of  God  in  Jesus  Christ,  that  He  is  the  Life  of  man, 
and  that  this  Life  is  imparted  to  man  by  feeding 
upon  His  flesh. 


71 


X. 

^econb  ^aturbctg  in  £enf. 


S.    PHILIP'S   REQUEST. 


S.  John  xiv.  7-11. 

"  If  ye  had  known  Me,  ye  should  have  known  My  Father  also  :  and 
from  henceforth  ye  know  Him,  and  have  seen  Him.  Philip  saith  unto 
Him,  Lord,  shew  us  the  Father,  and  it  sufficeth  us.  Jesus  saith  unto 
him,  Have  I  been  so  long  time  with  you,  and  yet  hast  thou  not  known 
Me,  Philip  ?  he  that  hath  seen  Me  hath  seen  the  Father  ;  and  how 
sayest  thou  then.  Shew  us  the  Father?  Believest  thou  not  that  I  am 
in  the  Father,  and  the  Father  in  Me  ?  the  words  that  I  speak  unto  you 
I  speak  not  of  Myself:  but  the  Father  that  dwelleth  in  Me,  He  doeth 
the  works.  Believe  Me  that  I  am  in  the  Father,  and  the  Father  in 
Me  :  or  else  believe  Me  for  the  very  works'  sake." 

F  ye  had  known  Me,  ye  should  have  known 
My  Father  also:  from  henceforth  ye  know 
Him,  and  have  seen  Him." 
Before  we  consider  the  application  of  this  verse  we 
must   notice  the  difference   between    the  two   verbs 

72 


^.  (p^i(ip*B  (Reciueet.  ^ 

translated  by  "  to  know."  "  If  ye  had  known  Me  " 
(eyvcoKeiTe).  The  word  used  here  means,  to  know  a 
thing  by  observation.  It  is  as  though  our  Lord  had 
said,  If  you  had  used  your  opportunities  during  the 
three  years  which  you  have  lived  with  Me,  you  would 
have  come  to  know  Me  from  what  you  have  seen  and 
heard  of  Me,  in  such  a  way  that  you  would  have 
"  known   My  Father  also." 

But  here  we  have  a  different  verb  (rjbeire),  which 
signifies,  to  know  a  thing  by  reflection.  There  are 
certain  things  which  we  come  to  know  by  the 
exercise  of  our  senses.  There  are  others  which 
we  know  by  reflection.  Our  Lord  says :  If  ye  had 
come  to  know  Me  by  observation  during  My  life, 
ye  would  have  known,  by  reflection,  My  Father;  for 
ye  would  have  seen  Him  manifested  in  Me. 

This  verse  concludes  our  Lord's  answer  to  the 
question  of  S.  Thomas.  S.  Thomas,  however,  is 
silent,  apparently  because  he  desired  to  ponder  over 
and  reflect  upon  Christ's  words.  But  here  S.  Philip 
takes  up  the  conversation  and  asks,  as  though  the 
request  had  been  suggested  by  what  our  Lord  had 
just  said,  "  Lord,  shew  us  the  Father,  and  it  sufiflceth 
us." 

S.  Philip,  in  spiritual  comprehension,  seems  to 
have  been  the  slowest  and  dullest  among  the 
apostles ;    for,   while   the   objection    of    S.    Thomas 

73 


^  ^econb  ^dtutbcij  in  SLcnt. 

is  the  objection  of  a  thoughtful  man,  the  request 
of  S.  Phih'p  is  based  upon  a  merely  superficial 
apprehension  of  our  Lord's  teaching.  He  takes 
up  our  Lord's  last  words,  "If  ye  had  known  Me, 
ye  should  have  known  My  Father  also :  and  from 
henceforth  ye  know  Him,  and  have  seen  Him," 
and  says,  "  Lord,  shew  us  the  Father,  and  it  suffices 
us."  Instead  of  spiritual  sight,  he  asks  for  bodily 
sight,  not  considering  how  impossible  was  his 
request. 

If  we  look  back  to  the  beginning  of  S.  Phih'p's 
spiritual  life,  we  shall  find  the  same  characteristics 
manifested.  He  was  one  of  the  first  five  disciples  whom 
Jesus  called,  as  S.  John  records  in  the  first  chapter  of 
his  Gospel.  Of  these  five,  two  came  to  Christ  of 
their  own  volition  or  seeking  ;  two  were  brought  to 
Him  by  their  friends.  S.  Philip  stands  alone  among 
the  five  as  the  one  who  had  to  be  sought  by  Christ. 
We  read  that,  Jesus  ''  findeth  Philip,  and  saith  unto 
him,  Follow  Me."*  He  has  to  be  sought,  and 
found,  and  commanded  to  follow  Him ;  and  then  he 
obeys.  He  had  probably  had  the  same  teaching  as 
the  others  in  the  school  of  S.  John  Baptist ;  so  that, 
like  them,  he  was  prepared  to  receive  Christ ;  and 
having  accepted  His  call,  he  brings  his  friend 
Nathanael  to  our  Lord. 

*   S.  Jolin  i.  43. 

74 


In  his  conversation  with  Nathanael  we,  however, 
recognise  the  same  dulness  in  the  blunders  which  he 
makes  about  Christ's  Person.  He  says  to  Nathanael, 
"  We  have  found  Him,  of  Whom  Moses  in  the  law, 
and  the  prophets,  did  write,  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  the 
son  of  Joseph."*  Nathanael  objects,  "  Can  there 
any  good  thing  come  out  of  Nazareth  ? "  The 
prophets  to  whom  Philip  referred  had  foretold  that 
the  Messiah  should  come  from  Bethlehem. 

S.  Philip  makes  two  blunders.  Our  Lord  was  not, 
in  a  true  sense,  Jesus  of  Nazareth ;  and  He  was  not 
the  Son  of  Joseph.  It  is  true,  that  He  dwelt  at 
Nazareth  after  His  return  from  Egypt,  and  so  was 
often  spoken  of  by  the  common  people  as  "  Jesus  of 
Nazareth." 

But  if  Philip  referred  to  the  prophets,  he  ought  to 
have  remembered  that  ^/ley  spoke  of  One  Who 
should  come  from  Bethlehem.  And  then,  too,  Jesus 
was  not  the  Son  of  Joseph  ;  He  was  the  Son  of 
Mary,  by  the  operation  the  Holy  Ghost. 

S.  Philip  is  brought  before  us  in  the  Gospels  in 
two  other  passages,  which  do  not,  however,  throw 
any  special  light  upon  his  character.  But  the  cir- 
cumstances of  his  call,  and  of  his  bringing  his 
friend  Nathanael  to  Christ,  suggest  very  much  the 
type   of  spiritual   character  which  is    manifested    in 

*  S.  John  i.  45, 

75 


^  ^econb  ^aturbag  in  SLtnt 

the  request,  "  Shew  us  the  Father,  and    it   sufficeth 


us." 


S.  PhiHp's  difficulty  is  not  unbelief,  so  much  as 
spiritual  dulness ;  for  the  very  request,  "  Shew  us  the 
Father,"  implies  the  belief  that  Christ  could  show 
them  the  Father ;  but  also  exposes  his  want  of 
spiritual  preception  in  supposing  that  the  Father 
could  be  seen  with  bodily  eyes. 

Our  Blessed  Lord's  reply  is  full  of  deepest  pathos 
and  reproach,  "  Have  I  been  so  long  time  with  you, 
and  yet  hast  thou  not  known  Me,  Philip?"  Here 
the  word  "  to  know "  is  to  know  by  observation. 
Have  you  witnessed  My  life  so  long,  and  learned 
nothing  from  it  ?  Have  you  listened  to  My  words  so 
often,  and  forgotten  what  they  taught  ?  "I  and  the 
Father  are  one."  '*  The  Father  is  in  Me,  and  I  in 
Him."*  "  He  that  hath  seen  Me  hath  seen  the 
Father  ; "  not  because  he  hath  seen  the  Father  in 
His  absolute  Being,  but  because  he  hath  seen  God 
revealed  in  the  Fatherly  relation,  revealed  as 
Father ;  for  in  Christ,  as  S.  Paul  tells  us  in  the 
Epistle  to  the  Colossians,  "dwellcth  all  the  plentitude 
of  the  Godhead  bodilywise."t 

In  this  reproach  of  our  Lord  to  S.  Philip  we  have 
a  most  important  spiritual  distinction  brought  before 
us,  perhaps  the  most  important  in  the  whole  spiritual 

*  S.  John  X,  30  ;  38,  f  Col.  ii.  9. 

76 


^.  (p^idf'B  (Request.  ^ 

life — the  difference  between  knowing  Christ,  and 
knowing  about  Christ.  S.  Philip  had  followed  our 
Lord  for  some  three  years.  He  knew  a  great  deal 
about  Him  ;  he  knew  what  He  had  said  ;  He  knew 
what  He  had  done — the  works  of  wonder,  the  words 
of  love;  but,  somehow,  he  had  not  come  to  know 
Christ. 

There  are  many  Christians  who  really  desire  to 
serve  Christ  faithfully,  who,  either  from  spiritual 
dulness,  or  from  some  other  cause,  are  very  much 
like  S.  Philip.  They  know  a  great  deal  about  God  ; 
they  have  read  the  Gospels  through  again  and  again ; 
they  have  read  many  books  on  our  Lord's  life  ;  they 
have  heard  sermons,  and  lectures,  and  meditations. 
And  in  these  various  ways  they  have  come  to  amass 
a  great  deal  of  information  about  Christ.  They 
could  answer  almost  any  question  which  could  be 
asked  them  in  regard  to  our  Lord's  history.  But 
they  do  not  know  Christ  in  the  intimate  knowledge 
of  spiritual  communion  with  Him;  they  do  not  know 
Him  in  the  intimacy  of  spiritual  friendship. 

It  sometimes  happens  that  we  have  read  a  great 
deal  about  some  great  man,  one  of  the  world's 
heroes,  who  happens  to  be  contemporary  with  us. 
We  have  read,  perhaps,  a  great  many  biographies 
of  this  man  ;  and  we  have  formed  our  own  mental 
picture  of  the  man  and  of  his  character.     We  think 

77 


^  ^econb  ^aturbag  in  &ent, 

we  know  him.  But  some  day  it  comes  to  pass  that 
we  are  introduced  to  him,  and  come  to  know  him  as 
a  friend.  And  very  often  we  find  that  all  our 
conceptions  of  him  are  wrong.  He  is  not  a  bit 
like  what  we  thought  he  was. 

So  it  is  with  Christ.  Knowing  a3out  Christ,  and 
knowing  Christ,  are  very  different  things.  We  come 
to  know  about  Christ  by  reading  about  Him.  We 
come  to  know  Him,  chiefly  in  meditation,  in  prayer, 
and  in  communion.  You  get  to  know  a  man,  not  by 
reading  about  him,  but  by  talking  to  him.  An 
hour's  conversation  reveals  more  to  you  of  the  man, 
than  reading  many  books  about  him. 

So  you  get  to  know  Christ  through  prayer, 
especially  mental  prayer,  or  meditation.  And  I 
suppose  it  is  on  this  account,  on  account  of  its 
immense  value,  that  Satan  tries  to  discourage  people 
so  much  in  regard  to  meditation.  He  tries  to  make 
them  satisfied  with  knowing  about  God,  with  reading 
books  which  are  interesting,  instead  of  going  through 
the  hard  work  of  speaking  to  God  in  meditation, 
listening  for  His  Voice ;  and  so  coming  to  know 
Him  through  personal  intercourse. 

Let  us  prayerfully  consider  Christ's  reproach  to  S. 
Philip,  and  ask  ourselves  whether  it  applies  to  us — 
"  Have  I  been  so  long  time  with  you,  and  yet  hast 
thou  not  known  Me,  Philip  ?  "     How  many  years  is 

7S 


it  since  we  gave  ourselves  to  Christ  ?  Can  we  say, 
humbly  but  sincerely,  that  we  have  learned  to  know 
Him  as  the  Lord  of  our  Life,  as  our  Master,  and  as 
our  Friend  ? 


79 


XL 

^econb  Otonbag  in  &cnt. 


CHRIST'S  ANSWER   TO   S.   PHILIP, 


S.  John  xiv.   10-14. 

"  Believest  thou  not  that  I  am  in  the  Father,  and  the  Father  in  Me  ? 
the  words  that  I  speak  unto  you,  I  speak  not  of  Myself:  but  the 
Father  that  dwelleth  in  Me,  He  doeth  the  works.  BeHeve  Me  that  I 
am  in  the  Father,  and  the  Father  in  Me  :  or  else  believe  Me  for  the 
very  works'  sake.  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  He  that  believeth 
on  Me,  the  works  that  I  do  shall  he  do  also ;  and  greater  works 
than  these  shall  He  do ;  because  I  go  unto  My  Father.  And 
whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  My  name,  that  will  I  do,  that  the  Father 
may  be  glorified  in  the  Son.  If  ye  shall  ask  anything  in  My  name,  I 
will  do  it." 

F  we  examine  our  Lord's  answer,  we  find  it 
falls  very  clearly  into  three  divisions :  first, 
there  is  the  reproach,  "  Have  I  been  so 
long  time  with  you,  and  yet  hast  thou  not  known 
Me,  Philip?  "then  there  is  the  dogmatic  statement, 

80 


e^rtefB  Answer  to  ^.  (p^tftp.  ^ 

"  He  that  hath  seen  Me  hath  seen  the  Father  ;  "  and 
finally,  an  indication  of  the  lines  of  evidence  which 
should  have  led  S.  Philip  to  a  clearer  apprehension 
of  our  Lord's  person  and  teaching.  Let  us  turn  our 
attention  to  this  last  part  of  Christ's  answer. 

The  difficulties  which  are  brought  before  our  Lord 
by  different  persons  on  different  occasions,  ought  to 
be  of  special  interest  to  us,  inasmuch  as  they  often 
call  our  attention  to  great  principles  which  are  in 
danger  of  being  overlooked.  Christ  seldom  meets  a 
difficulty  by  a  categorical  yes  or  no ;  but  if  His 
answer  sometimes  seems  less  direct,  it  is  because  it 
is  more  exhaustive,  because  our  Lord  answers  not 
merely  the  verbal  question,  but  unfolds  principles 
which  are  involved  in  it. 

In  the  case  under  our  consideration  Christ  appeals 
to  evidence  of  two  kinds — objective  and  subjective. 
First,  He  points  out  that  both  His  words  and  His 
works  bear  witness  to  His  relation  to  the  Father, 
and  to  His  intimate  communion  with  Him.  He 
says,  "  Believest  thou  not  that  I  am  in  the  Father, 
and  the  Father  in  Me?  The  words  that  I  speak 
unto  you,  I  speak  not  of  Myself:  but  the  Father  that 
dwelleth  in  Me,  He  doeth  the  works.  Believe  Me 
that  I  am  in  the  Father,  and  the  Father  in  Me  :  or 
else  believe  Me  for  the  very  works'  sake." 

Here  He  appeals  to  the  objective  evidence  of  His 
words  and  works.     And  He  reminds  S.  Philip  that 

8i  G 


^  ^econb  (gtonbdg  in  £enf. 

He  had  often  called  their  attention  to  the  fact  that 
neither  His  words  nor  His  works  were  self-originated; 
that  both  alike  proceeded  from  His  relation  to  the 
Father.  For  instance,  He  had  said,  "  My  doctrine  is 
not  Mine,  but  His  that  sent  Me  ;  "*  and,  "  I  have  not 
spoken  of  Myself ;  but  the  Father  Which  sent  Me, 
He  gave  Me  a  commandment,  what  I  should  say, 
and  what  I  should  speak."t 

Then,  in  regard  to  His  works.  He  had  said, 
"  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  the  Son  can  do 
nothing  of  Himself,  but  what  He  seeth  the  Father 
do :  for  what  things  soever  He  doeth,  these  also 
doeth  the  Son  likewise.''^  And  in  reference  to  both 
words  and  works,  Christ  had  said,  "  When  ye  have 
lifted  up  the  Son  of  man,  then  shall  ye  know  that  I 
am  He,  and  that  I  do  nothing  of  Myself;  but  as  My 
Father  hath  taught  Me,  I  speak  these  things.  And 
He  that  sent  Me  is  with  Me  :  the  Father  hath  not 
left  Me  alone ;  for  I  do  always  those  things  that 
please  Him."§ 

With  these  aids  from  Christ's  own  words,  the 
Apostles  ought  to  have  been  able  to  draw  the 
inference  of  His  relation  to  the  Father,  and  of  the 
fact  that  He  in  His  own  Person  manifested  to  them 
the   Father;  as   He  said  to  S.  Thomas,  *' If  3/c  had 

*  S.  John  vii.  16.  f   S,  John  xii.  49.  |  S.  John  v.  19, 

§  S.  John  viii.  28,  29. 

82 


Cgrjgfg  ^mmx  to  g,  (pgtfty>  ^ 

known  Me,  ye  should  have  known  My  Father  also 
from  henceforth  ye  know  Him,  and  have  seen  Him."* 

The  same  dogmatic  statement  which  He  makes 
in  these  words  they  could  have  reached  themselves, 
if  they  had  known  Him  as  they  ought  to  have  known 
Him.  His  gracious  words  and  wonderful  works 
themselves  bore  witness  of  His  communion  with  the 
Father. 

To  use  an  imperfect  illustration,  we  are  told  of 
the  Apostles  S.  Peter  and  S.  John,  who  were  ignorant 
and  unlearned  men,  that  when  they  were  brought 
before  the  authorities  of  the  Jewish  Church,  "they 
took  knowledge  of  them,  that  they  had  been  with 
Jesus."t  That  is  to  say,  the  Jewish  authorities 
explained  the  marvellous  power  of  their  preaching, 
and  the  miracle  which  they  had  wrought  in  the  Name 
of  Jesus,  by  the  fact  that  they  had  been  with  Jesus. 
They  drew  this  inference  from  their  words  and 
actions,  which  would  otherwise  have  been  incom- 
prehensible in  unlettered  and  ignorant  men  ;  they 
saw  that  they  were  the  effects  of  their  communion 
with  Christ. 

So  in  the  passage  we  are  considering,  though  in  a 
much  higher  sense,  our  Lord  points  to  His  own 
words  and  works  as  proving  His  communion  with 
His  Father,  and  as  proving  His  Father's  witness  to 

*  S.  John  xiv.  7.  f  Acts  iv.  13. 

83 


^  ^econb  (tttonbag  in  S^cni, 

Him.  He  says,  "  Believe  Me  that  I  am  in  the 
Father,  and  the  P'ather  in  Me  :  or  else  believe  Me 
for  the  very  works'  sake."  "  Believe  Me,"  He  says  ; 
that  is,  have  faith  in  Me,  on  account  of  My  teaching  ; 
for  I  have  taught  you  that  I  am  in  the  Father,  and 
the  Father  in  Me.  But  if  you  have  not  this  faith,  at 
least  use  your  reason,  and  from  the  divinity  of  My 
works  deduce  the  necessary  divinity  of  My  nature. 
Believe  Me,  because  you  know  Me.  Or,  if  you  do 
not,  use  your  intellect  and  ask  yourselves,  could  any 
mere  man  have  uttered  the  words ;  have  done  the 
miracles,  that  I  have  done? 

Then  our  Lord  passes  from  the  objective  evidence 
of  his  words  and  works  to  certain  subjective  evidence 
which  was  not  at  that  time  in  their  possession,  but 
which  He  promises  soon  shall  be  theirs.  He  says, 
"Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you.  He  that  believeth  on 
Me,  the  works  that  I  do  shall  he  do  also ;  and 
greater  works  than  these  shall  he  do ;  because  I  go 
unto  the  Father." 

Christ  turns  from  the  objective  manifestation  of 
God — that  is,  His  manifestation  outside  of  themselves 
by  teaching  and  miracles — to  the  subjective  manifes- 
tation of  God,  the  manifestation  of  God  which  they 
shall  experience  in  their  own  souls,  in  the  exercise 
of  new  powers  to  be  committed  to  them.  They  had 
wondered  at  His  gracious  words,  which  reached  the 

84 


C^rjgfg  (^ngn^er  to   g.  (P^iftp>  ^ 

hearts  and  swayed  the  minds  of  the  multitude. 
They  had  marvelled  at  His  miracles  of  healing  the 
sick  and  raising  the  dead.  And  He  tells  them,  as  an 
evidence  of  the  truth  of  His  mission,  that  they  shall 
do  greater  works  than  these.  And  we  know  His 
promise  was  fulfilled.  After  Pentecost,  their 
preaching  did  reach  men's  souls,  and  through  the 
Name  of  their  Master  they  were  able  to  heal  the 
sick  and  to  raise  the  dead. 

But  in  what  sense  were  their  works  to  be  greater 
than  their  Master's?  Not  greater  in  kind,  but 
greater  in  scope.  The  number  of  disciples  who  were 
gathered  together  in  the  upper  chamber  at  Jerusalem 
after  Christ's  Ascension,  as  a  result  of  His  three 
years'  preaching,  was  only  some  hundred  and  twenty; 
but  the  effect  of  S.  Peter's  sermon  on  the  Day  of 
Pentecost  is  seen  in  the  gathering  into  the  Church 
of  about  three  thousand  souls !  And  the  marvel  of 
Christianity  at  its  birth  was  its  missionary  power. 
In  less  than  a  generation  it  had  spread  almost 
throughout  the  then  civilised  world. 

Our  Lord  has  appealed  to  His  works  as  an 
objective  evidence  of  the  truth  of  His  mission,  and 
now  announces  that  the  believer  shall  find  in  himself 
a  subjective  proof  of  its  truth  in  the  experience  of  a 
new  power,  greater  even  than  that  which  His  Master 
had  manifested — the  power  of  converting  the  world 

85 


'O^  ^econb  (Ulonbag  in  &tni. 

to  Christ.  And  this  was  to  follow  as  the  result  of 
His  departure  to  His  Father  ;  for  our  Lord  says, 
"  Greater  works  than  these  shall  he  do ;  because  I  go 
unto  the  Father." 

But  here  we  may  ask  in  what  sense,  precisely, 
these  greater  gifts  to  the  Church  were  to  be  the 
result  of  Christ's  going  to  His  Father.  He  tells  us — 
because  He  would  send  the  Holy  Ghost  the 
Comforter  ;  and  because  He  would  begin  His  work 
of  intercession  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father. 

Of  the  mission  of  the  Holy  Ghost  He  treats  fully 
in  the  rest  of  His  discourse.  But  first  He  refers  to 
the  effects  of  His  intercession  in  the  new  power 
which  should  be  attached  to  the  prayer  of  the 
Christian.  This  we  may  consider  more  fully  in  the 
next  section. 


86 


XII. 

^econb  Cueebag  in  &tnt. 


THE   POWER   OF   CHRISTIAN  PRAYER, 


S.  John  xiv.   13,   14. 

*'  Whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  My  name,  that  will  I  do,  that  the 
Father  may  be  glorified  in  the  Son.  If  ye  shall  ask  anything  in  My 
name,  I  will  do  it." 

N  these  words  our  Lord  reveals  the  instru- 
ment by  which  His  disciples  are  to  do 
greater  works  than  those  which  they  had 
seen  Him  do.  The  instrument  is  prayer ;  not, 
however,  mere  prayer,  but  prayer  in  the  Name, 
and  therefore  through  the  power,  of  Jesus  Christ. 
All  can  pray  to  God  as  their  Creator.  The  heathen 
can  thus  pray,  and  their  prayers  are  heard.  But  the 
Christian  prays,  not  merely  to  God  as  his  Creator, 
but  to  God  as  his  Father — his  Father,  because  he  is 

87 


an  adopted  son  of  God,  adopted  through  incorpora- 
tion into  Christ,  a  member  of  Christ,  therefore  a  son 
of  God.  So  he  is  taught  to  pray,  "Our  Father, 
Which  art  in  heaven."  Moreover,  he  can  plead  not 
only  with  God  as  a  Father,  but  he  can  plead  the 
merits,  the  infinite  merits,  of  his  great  Elder  Brother, 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Prayer  with  a  Christian  is  something  very  different 
from  prayer  with  a  heathen.  It  is  the  prayer,  not 
merely  of  the  creature  to  his  Creator,  not  only  of  a 
son  to  his  Father ;  but  prayer  made  in  the  Name  and 
through  the  merits  of  Jesus  Christ,  Who  sitteth  at 
the  right  hand  of  the  Father,  and  adds  to  our  prayer 
the  plea  of  His  merits,  the  power  of  His  all-prevailing 
intercession. 

In  these  discourses  our  Lord  returns  many  times 
to  the  subject  of  prayer.  But  if  we  examine  His 
words  at  this  point  we  may  pass  over,  with  but  a 
brief  notice,  the  other  references  to  it  First,  we  may 
observe  in  this  passage  the  scope  of  prayer — "  What- 
soever ye  shall  ask  in  My  Name  ; "  how  enormous  ! 
"Whatsoever!"  You  will  say  the  scope  is  unlimited. 
But  no ;  it  is  limited  by  the  purpose  of  prayer — 
"  Whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  My  Name,  that  will  I 
do,  that  the  Father  may  be  glorified  in  the  Son." 
All  prayer  must  have  as  its  end  the  glorification  of 
God  through  Jesus  Christ.     This,  therefore,  shuts  out 

88 


t^t  (porocx  of  C^rtgtian  (praget>  ^ 

those   things   which    are   not   for   God's   glory,  and 
therefore  not  for  our  own  real  good. 

"  Whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  My  Name,"  that  has 
God's  glory  as  its  end,  "  that  will  I  do."  People  are 
often  puzzled  to  know  what  they  ought  to  pray  for ; 
sometimes,  what  they  ought  no^  to  pray  for.  In 
regard  to  prayer,  we  may  divide  all  things  into  three 
classes : 

First,  there  are  those  things  which  we  know  are  for 
God's  glory  and  in  accordance  with  God's  Will  ; 
such,  for  instance,  as  all  things  which  pertain  to  our 
spiritual  growth  and  sanctification.  For  these  we 
may  pray,  with  the  absolute  certainty  that  they  will 
be  granted.  For  it  is  revealed  to  us  that,  "This  is 
the  Will  of  God,  even  your  sanctification."*  Every- 
thing connected  with  our  spiritual  life,  with  our 
growth  in  goodness,  we  can  pray  for  without  doubt. 
We  know  that  God  wills  to  give  it  to  us,  desires  that 
we  should  pray  for  it.  We  have  the  assurance  of 
Christ's  own  promise  that  our  prayer  will  be  granted, 
if  we  do  not  put  an  obstacle  in  the  way  by  our  sins. 

Then,  secondly,  there  is  that  large  class  of  things 
about  which  we  are  quite  sure  that  they  are  not  for 
God's  glory,  not  for  our  own  good  ;  as,  for  instance, 
when  we  want  to  have  our  own  way,  knowing  that  it 
is  not  the  right  way  ;  when  we  desire  success  in  some 

*  I  Thess.  iv.  3. 

89 


'^^  ^cconb  ^ueebag  in   SLCnt 

undertaking,  which  is  not  right  or  honest.  These 
things  are  excluded  entirely  from  the  scope  of 
Christian  prayer  ;  for  they  are  not  for  God's  glory. 

Between  these  two  divisions  lies  a  third — that 
large  class  of  things  about  which  we  are  not  sure 
whether  they  are  according  to  God's  Will  or  not ; 
success,  for  instance,  in  our  undertakings  in  this 
world  ;  the  restoration  of  health  when  we  are  sick  ; 
the  acquisition  of  wealth  in  business  ;  and  many 
other  things  which  may  or  may  not  be  for  God's 
glory  and  our  own  good.  For  these,  therefore,  we 
are  to  pray,  with  the  proviso,  "  Not  my  will,  but 
Thine,  be  done."  We  can  pray  to  God  to  bless  our 
undertakings  in  the  world,  the  work  we  do,  if  we  add, 
"  Thy  will  be  done  in  earth,  as  it  is  in  heaven."  We 
can  ask  Him  to  restore  us  to  health  when  we  are 
sick,  if  we  are  sure  that  we  are  entirely  resigned  to 
His  Will,  believing  that  He  knows  what  is  best  for 
us ;  and  therefore  leaving  ourselves  in  His  hands, 
to  suffer  or  to  get  well,  as  He  deems  best  for 
us. 

We  learn,  then,  from  this  passage,  first,  the  scope 
of  Christian  prayer — "  Whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in 
My  Name  ; "  secondly,  its  purpose — "  that  the  Father 
may  be  glorified  in  the  Son  ;  "  and  thirdly,  what  is, 
perhaps,  most  important  of  all,  we  are  taught  the 
channel  of  Christian  prayer — "  in  My  Name."     That 

90 


€^c  (porotv  of  C^ttgftan  (prager^  ^^ 

means,  through  My  Person  and  character,  through 
the  merits  of  My  Passion,  through  the  power  of  My 
intercession ;  for  the  channel  of  Christian  prayer  is 
the  merits  of  Christ.  Therefore,  we  finish  our 
prayers  with  the  words,  "  through  Jesus   Christ." 

It  is  in  this  that  Christian  prayer  differs  from  all 
other  prayer — that  it  pleads  the  Name  which  is 
above  every  name,  the  Name  of  Jesus !  Others  may 
base  their  prayers  upon  God's  mercy,  or  upon  His  love. 
The  Christian  adds  to  this  the  all-prevailing  plea  of 
Christ's  own  promise,  "  Whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in 
My  Name,  that  will  I  do."  This  plea  is  infinite  in 
its  power,  as  the  merits  of  Christ  are  infinite. 

We  plead,  by  all  that  Christ  did  for  us,  all  that  He 
suffered  for  us ;  "  By  the  mystery  of  Thy  Holy 
Incarnation  ;  by  Thy  Holy  Nativity  and  Circum- 
cision ;  by  Thy  Baptism,  Fasting,  and  Temptation, 
Good  Lord,  deliver  us.  By  Thine  Agony  and  Bloody 
Sweat  ;  by  Thy  Cross  and  Passion  ;  by  Thy  precious 
Death  and  Burial ;  by  Thy  glorious  Resurrection  and 
Ascension  ;  and  by  the  Coming  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
Good  Lord,  deliver  us." 

And  more  still — not  only  by  all  that  He  did  for  us, 
all  that  He  suffered  for  us  upon  earth,  we  plead  what 
He  is  now  doing  for  us  in  heaven — His  continual 
intercession  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father,  where 
He  ever  liveth   to   make   intercession    for   us.     The 

91 


-^^  ^econb  ZncQ^dT^  in  £enf. 


Christian's  prayer  is  of  all-prevailing  power  ;  because 
it  flows  through  the  channel  of  Christ's  merits,  it 
is  made  in  the  Name  of  Christ's  Person. 

In  the  sixteenth  chapter  our  Lord  repeats  this 
promise — "Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  Whatso- 
ever ye  shall  ask  the  Father  in  My  Name,  He  will 
give  it  you."  But  there  He  adds,  "  Hitherto  have  ye 
asked  nothing  in  My  Name  :  ask,  and  ye  shall 
receive,  that  your  joy  may  be  fulfilled."* 

You  will  observe  that  Christ  Himself  draws  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  of  the  difference  between  Christian 
prayer  and  other  prayer.  He  says,  "  Hitherto  have 
ye  asked  nothing  tn  My  Name."  The  disciples  had 
prayed ;  they  had  asked,  and  had  obtained,  doubtless, 
many  things  from  God  ;  but  they  had  never  used  the 
all-prevailing  plea,  the  Name  of  Christ  Henceforth 
their  joy  was  to  be  fulfilled  in  prayer  ;  for  they  were 
to  pray  with  an  assurance  based  upon  Christ's  own 
words,  ''  Whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  the  Father  in  My 
Name,  He  will  give  it  you." 

We  must  not,  however,  forget  that,  while  Christ  is 
the  Channel  of  Prayer,  the  Holy  Ghost  is  the  Agent 
of  Prayer.  Prayer — Christian  prayer,  at  least — is 
His  work  in  the  soul ;  as  S.  Paul  teaches  us,  "  The 
Spirit  also  helpeth  our  infirmities  :  for  we  know  not 
what  we  should  pray  for  as  we  ought :  but  the  Spirit 

*  S.  Jolin  xvi.  23,  24. 
92 


€^c  (power  of  C^ttBttdn  (ftr<xger>  ^ 

Itself    maketh   intercession    for   us    with    groanings 
which  cannot  be  uttered."* 

You  will  observe  that  S.  Paul  points  out  three 
ways  in  which  the  Holy  Spirit  is  to  help  us  in  our 
prayers.  He  is  to  help  us  in  the  matter  of  prayer,  to 
teach  us  what  we  should  pray  for.  He  is  to  help  us 
in  the  manner  of  our  prayer,  to  teach  us  to  pray  as 
we  ought ;  to  teach  us  how  to  pray.  And  then 
again,  He  is  to  make  "  intercession  for  us  with 
groanings  which  cannot  be  uttered."  Our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father  in 
heaven  intercedes  for  us ;  and  the  Holy  Ghost  in  our 
own  soul,  acting  upon  our  spirit,  with  aspirations, 
and  desires,  and  sighs,  and  groanings,  which  cannot 
find  words  to  express  themselves,  intercedes  also. 

But  here  we  must  leave  this  inexhaustible  subject, 
striving  to  learn  from  Christ's  own  words  some 
simple  lessons  in  regard  to  the  supreme  duty  of 
prayer. 

*  Rom.  viii,  26. 


93 


XIII. 

2^^tri)  T3?ebne6bag  in  SLCni, 


LOVE. 


S.  John  xiv.   15. 
"If  ye  love  Me,  keep  My  commandments.' 


HE  thought  of  love  follows  the  thought  of 
faith.  In  our  last  meditation  we  saw 
that  faith  by  the  agency  of  prayer  can 
work  even  greater  things  than  those  which  Christ 
did  upon  earth.  Here  we  are  taught  that  love 
issues  in  works  of  devotion  especially  manifested 
in  an  obedience  which  shows  itself  in  loving  self- 
sacrifice. 

Our  translation  has  "  keep  my  commandments," 
but  in  the  best  manuscripts  the  verb  is  in  the  future, 
not  in  the  imperative :  it  is  rr/pjyo-T/re  not  TTjpTja-are — 
If  ye   love    Mc,   ye    will   keep   My  commandments. 

94 


And  this  indeed  is  required  by  the  relation  of 
obedience  to  love.  As  our  Lord  implies,  obedience 
is  the  necessary  consequence  of  love.  It  is 
unnecessary  to  say,  "If  ye  love  Me,  keep  My 
commandments ; "  for  if  you  love,  you  will  obey. 
And  this  is  what  our  Lord  is  pointing  out  in  this 
passage  that  obedience  is  the  proof  of  perfect  love, 
and  therefore  that  disobedience  is  an  evidence  of 
the  imperfection  of  love.  For  it  is  absolutely 
impossible  to  love  God  and  wilfully  to  disobey 
His  commandments. 

We  may  also  notice  that  in  the  original  the 
word  translated  "  My"  {ra^  evroXas  ras  (fias)  is  emphatic. 
Indeed,  we  might  render  the  passage,  "  ye  will  keep 
the  commandments,  which  are  in  a  special  sense 
Mine."  Our  Lord  is  evidently  referring  to  the 
Gospel,  since  the  commandments  given  therein 
are  especially  His,  in  that  they  are  characteristic 
of  His  teaching  which  love  will  lead  us  to  carry 
out  with  scrupulous  fidelity. 

Love  is  the  "  antiphon "  of  these  discourses. 
We  find  it  enjoined  in  no  less  than  seven 
distinct  passages.  In  four,  it  is  love  directed 
towards  God  and  associated  with  obedience,*  as 
in  the  verse  under  our  consideration  ;  and  in 
three    it    is    love    directed    especially  towards    our 

*  S.  John  xiv.  15,  21,  23 ;  xv.  9. 

95 


^  2;^trb  TJJebneebag  in  £ent. 

neighbour."^'  In  this  verse  obedience  is  set  forth 
as  the  consequence  of  love.  "If  ye  love  Me,  ye  will 
keep  My  commandments."  And  similarly  in  verse 
23,  "  If  a  man  love  Me,  he  will  keep  My  words." 
In  verse  21,  it  is  adduced  as  the  evidence  of  love: 
"  He  that  hath  My  commandments,  and  keepeth 
them,  he  it  is  that  loveth  Me."  In  the  next 
chapter,  verse  9,  obedience  is  shown  to  be  the 
preservative  of  love :  "If  ye  keep  My  command- 
ments, ye  shall  abide  in  My  love." 

In  all  these  passages  it  is  love  towards  God    of 
which    Christ    is    speaking.       In    the    other    three 
instances    in    these    discourses    in    which    our    Lord 
enjoins   love    it    is    the  fruit  of   love   towards    God 
manifested    in    love    towards    our    neighbour ;    and 
in   two  of  them   our   Lord   proposes,  as  the  model 
of  that   love    which     He    commands    us    to    show 
towards     our     neighbour,     nothing    less    than     His 
own    wondrous    love   towards    us.      "  A    new    com- 
mandment    I     give    unto    you.    That    ye    love    one 
another;  as    I    have    loved    you,    that   ye    also    love 
one   another."     And  again,  "This  is  My  command- 
ment,  That  ye   love   one   another,  as   I   have    loved 
you ; "  and  here   He  adds,    "  Greater   love    hath   no 
man    than   this   that   a    man   lay  down  his    life   for 
his    friends,"    thus    adducing    the    supreme    act   of 

*   S.  John  xiii.  34  ;  xv.  12,  17. 

96 


love  by  which  He  redeemed  the  world  as  the 
pattern  of  that  love  which  we  should  show  to 
one  another. 

Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  would  therefore  teach 
us  that  love  is  the  true  motive  of  all  Christian 
life  and  of  Christian  obedience.  It  is  the  force, 
the  principle,  which  is  to  regenerate  the  world 
by  conquering  sin.  There  are  really  only  two 
great  moral  forces  working  in  this  world — the 
force  of  sin  and  the  force  of  love.  We  can  trace 
them  from  the  very  beginning  making  their  way 
down  the  great  stream  of  human  history.  We 
find  them  everywhere  present,  always  in  conflict 
and  meeting  for  their  supreme  effort  in  the  cross 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

There  we  learn  what,  perhaps,  we  should  not 
have  found  out  by  our  own  observation,  that  the 
force  of  love  is  stronger  than  that  of  sin.  As  we 
look  upon  this  world,  marred  and  ruined  by  sin, 
we  might  be  led  to  suppose  that  sin  was  stronger 
than  love,  because  it  seems  to  be  so  much  more 
universal,  and  so  much  more  certain  in  its  effects. 
Everywhere  we  see  the  marks  of  sin ;  not  only 
in  the  prisons,  and  hospitals,  and  asylums,  in 
which  sin's  victims  are  restrained  or  ministered  to, 
but  in  almost  every  home,  in  almost  every  life, 
not   only  is   sin   present,    but  present   to   wreck   all 

97  H 


^  2^^irb  TJ?ebne6i)dg  in  &eni 

that  is  fairest,  all  that  is  truest,  all  that  is  best  in 
man. 

U  we  regard  the  world  as  a  great  battle-field 
in  which  the  forces  of  sin  and  love  are  in  ceaseless 
conflict,  it  would  seem  to  the  superficial  observer 
that  sin  carried  the  warfare  into  every  part  of 
love's  country,  making  prisoners  everywhere.  We 
see  homes  in  which  love  reigns,  homes  of  peace 
and  happiness,  but  after  a  while  sin  finds  entrance 
there,  peace  departs,  happiness  dies,  the  home  is 
wrecked.  This  is  the  dark  side  of  the  picture, 
and  it  is  true  that  the  power  of  sin  is  enormous, 
that  its  captives  are  drawn  from  every  class. 

But  is  there  not  another  side  to  the  picture — a 
brighter  one  ?  We  see  bands  of  devoted  men  and 
women  going  down  into  the  slums  of  our  great 
cities  to  wage  a  hand-to-hand  battle  with  sin. 
What  is  the  motive  that  sends  them  there  ? 
What  is  the  force  which  gives  them  courage  to 
meet  the  foe,  to  persevere  through  long  years  in 
their  work,  to  endure  all  sorts  of  hardships  and 
ingratitude.  The  motive,  the  force  is  love !  And 
if  we  see  sin  entering  the  homes  of  love  and 
carrying  off  as  prisoners  those  who  dwell  therein, 
we  also  behold  the  servants  of  love  rescuing  sin's 
prisoners,  even  those  who  have  fallen  most  under 
its  degrading  power,  and  bringin;^  them  back  in 
triumph  to  the  obedience  of  love. 

98 


£ot?e»  -"^ 

Again,  we  behold  men  and  women  leaving 
not  only  their  homes  but  their  country,  taking 
their  lives  in  their  hands  and  going  as  missionaries 
to  the  heathen,  meeting  the  dangers  of  exposure, 
disease,  and  the  violence  and  treachery  of  those 
under  the  dominion  of  false  religions,  who,  under 
the  influence  of  their  native  savagery,  stop  at  no 
cruelty  in  their  efforts  to  destroy  missionaries 
bringing  them   the  gospel  of  peace. 

Again,  we  ask,  what  is  the  spirit  which  inspires 
these  missionaries  ?  What  is  the  motive  which 
leads  them  to  abandon  the  comforts  of  civilisation, 
to  face  the  dangers  and  difficulties  of  missionary 
work  ?  What  is  the  force  which  supports  them 
through  many  years  under  the  disappointments 
of  almost  fruitless  effort.  It  is  the  love  of  souls 
which  flows  from  the  love  of  God.  It  is  the 
carrying  out  of  our  Lord's  command,  ''  That  ye 
love  one  another,  as  I  have  loved  you." 

There  is,  however,  another  way  in  which  we 
may  estimate  the  relative  strength  of  these  forces 
of  sin  and  love.  It  is  by  tracing  them  each  to 
their  source,  to  their  origin.  If  we  do  this  we 
shall  find  that  sin  has  its  origin  in  the  devil ;  it 
is  diaboHcal  in  its  very  nature  and  source.  But 
love,  on  the  other  hand,  has  its  origin  in  God, 
since    "  God    is    Love ; "    so    that    its    source    and 

99 


^  ^^irb  TJJeinecbag  in  £enf. 

nature  is  divine.  Sin  is  a  tremendous  force,  and 
its  author  is  a  creature  of  enormous  power,  but 
not  almighty,  not  infinite.  Love,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  of  God,  and  God  is  ahnighty,  God  is 
infinite,  God  is  supreme.  So  that  if  we  trace  the 
two  forces  to  their  origin,  we  shall  be  saved  the 
mistake,  so  natural  to  one  who  simply  observes 
them  in  their  conflict  around  us — the  mistake 
of  thinking  that  sin  is  more  powerful  than  love. 

Again,  we  may  investigate  the  relative  power 
of  these  two  forces,  not  only  in  a  thousand  petty 
engagements  in  the  world  about  us  to-day,  but  in 
their  supreme  effort,  in  their  great  duel  on  Calvary. 
There  we  see  all  the  forces  of  sin  marshalled  and 
directed  by  their  leader,  Satan,  in  the  attempt  to 
crush  out,  in  the  Person  of  Jesus  Christ,  supreme 
goodness  and  supreme  love.  And  what  is  the 
result?  Sin  can  point  to  the  dead  Body  of  Jesus 
Christ  hanging  upon  the  cross,  and  can  say,  "  See 
what  I  have  done.  I  have  killed  the  only  perfect 
and  sinless  man.  He  came  to  set  free  from  my 
power  the  human  race.  He  came  to  redeem  my 
slaves.  He  taught  the  Gospel  of  love.  He  lived 
a  life  of  love,  and  now  it  is  all  over.  There  He 
hangs  upon  the  cross,  dead,  killed  by  those 
whom  He  came  to  save.  And  it  was  I  who 
incited    them    to    do    the    deed,    incited    them    to 

lOO 


£oioe.  ^ 

murder  Him  Who  desired  to  be  their  Deliverer. 
Can  you  doubt  my  power?  Which  is  stronger, 
sin  or  love  ?  " 

It  is  true  that  the  Passion  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  His  death  upon  the  cross,  is  a  witness  to 
the  power  and  malice  of  sin  ;  but  it  is  also  a 
witness  to  the  power  of  love.  For  the  Christian 
beholding  Christ  upon  the  cross  can  reply  to  the 
challenge  of  the  evil  one,  "  Great  is  your  power, 
but  in  compassing  the  death  of  Christ,  you  over- 
reached yourself,  and  your  power  was  shattered 
in  the  very  act  by  which  you  thought  you  had 
gained  the  victory." 

There  is  another  point  of  view  from  which  the 
death  of  Christ  may  be  regarded.  It  is  a 
manifestation  of  the  greatness  of  love :  "  Greater 
love  hath  no  man  than  this.  That  a  man  lay 
down  his  life  for  his  friends."  It  was  love  that 
led  the  Son  of  God  to  become  Incarnate,  to 
endure  all  the  ills  which  this  sinful  world  could 
inflict  upon  him.  It  was  love  which  took  Him 
through  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land, 
healing  the  sick,  raising  the  dead,  feeding  the 
hungry,  teaching  the  ignorant.  It  was  love  which 
led  Him  to  accept  the  return  which  an  ungrateful 
world  rendered  Him  for  all  these  benefits.  It 
was  love  which  made  Him  willing  to  suffer  and  to 
die  for  man.  loi 


-o^  ^^trb  n3?ebnegbag  in  &enf. 

All  the  cruelty,  all  the  humiliations  of  the 
Passion,  were  but  opportunities  for  manifesting 
the  greatness  of  His  love.  The  wounds  which 
were  inflicted  upon  the  sacred  Body  of  Jesus  by 
the  Roman  scourges,  were  but  so  many  gaping 
lips  eloquent  with  the  language  of  love.  "  Behold, 
and  see  if  there  be  any  sorrow  like  unto  My 
sorrow,"  says  the  prophet,  speaking  in  the  Person 
of  Christ,  and  from  the  greatness  of  My  sorrow 
learn  the  greatness  of  My  love. 

It  was  love  which  led  Him  to  sufl"er,  not  only 
the  ignominies  and  cruelties  of  the  Passion,  but 
to  die.  "  Greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this, 
That  a  man  lay  down  his  life  for  his  friends."  But 
love  is  stronger  than  death,  and  on  the  third  day, 
Love  arose  triumphant  from  the  dead.  After 
forty  days,  Love  ascended  into  heaven  to  reign 
there  in  His  own  Kingdom,  and  on  earth  still  to 
sway  by  His  Divine  power  the  hearts  and  minds 
of  His  subjects.  Sin  could  inflict  death  ;  but 
Jesus  passed  through  the  grave  and  gate  of  death 
and  rose  again,  and  "  death  hath  now  no  more 
dominion  over  Him." 

So  it  is  now  in  tliis  world,  so  will  it  always  be 
while  this  world  shall  last,  sin  may  persecute, 
may  scourge,  may  crucify,  may  kill  the  body  ; 
but   there    is   a    world    beyond,  a    kingdom    of   love 

102 


in  which  sin  shall  be  no  more.  And  those  who 
have  been  subjects  of  Jesus  Christ  in  this  life  will 
bear  witness  through  all  eternity  to  the  power  of 
His  love,  that  it  was  stronger  than  sin,  stronger 
than  death  ;  that  by  it,  that  is,  by  letting  it  rule 
their  lives,  they  conquer  sin.  "  If  ye  love  Me,  ye 
will  keep  My  commandments,"  said  our  Lord 
to  His  disciples,  and  "  This  is  My  commandment, 
That  ye  love  one  another,  as  I  have  loved  you." 
If  we  keep  these  commandments  we  shall  be 
doing  Christ's  work  in  this  world,  helping  to 
redeem  the  world  from  sin,  for  Love  is  the 
regenerative  force  of  Christian  life. 


103 


XIV. 


Z^ixt  ^^utfibcig  in  &cni. 


THE   COMFORTER. 


S,  John  xiv.   i6. 

"And   I  will  pray   the  Father,   and   He   shall   give   you   another 
Comforter,  that  He  may  abide  with  you  for  ever." 


EFORE  we  consider  the  teaching  in  this 
verse,  it  will  be  worth  our  while  to  notice 
the  word  which  is  translated,  or  mis-trans- 
lated, "  pray."  It  should  be,  "  I  will  ask  the  Father," 
not  ''pray  the  Father."  Prayer  implies  the  entire 
subordination  of  the  suppliant,  and  the  immeasurable 
superiority  of  Him  to  Whom  prayer  is  directed. 
But  this  is  not  the  case  with  our  Lord's  prayers, 
and  so  wc  find  in  the  original  a  word  used  here 
which  is  never  used  of  our  prayers  to  God.  The 
verb  here  is  epcorau^  and  it  is  used  in  regard  to  prayer, 

104 


€^t  Comforter.  -«• 

only  of  petitions  addressed  to  God  by  our  Blessed 
Lord  Himself.  Wherever  the  prayers  of  the  disciples 
are  spoken  of  another  word  (itVeTv)  is  used.  The 
word  epcorai/,  to  ask,  implies  some  sort  of  fellowship 
or  equality  between  the  person  who  asks  and  Him 
to  Whom  the  request  is  addressed. 

We  find  this  word  used  in  the  Synoptic  Gospels 
where  the  disciples  ask  our  Lord  to  do  things 
for  them  in  the  spirit  of  fellowship,  not  of  prayer. 
But  wherever  the  word  is  used  of  prayer  in  the 
Gospels,  it  is  used  only  in  regard  to  our  Lord's 
prayers  to  His  Father.  He  asks,  not  as  we  ask, 
realising  our  inferiority.  He  asks  with  a  sense  of 
divine  fellowship,  so  He  says,  "  I  will  ask  the  Father, 
and  He  shall  give  you  another  Comforter."  You 
will  notice  that  there  is  no  sense  of  uncertainty 
as  to  whether  the  prayer  will  be  granted.  Christ 
says,  I  will  ask,  and  the  Father  will  give. 

"  I  will  ask  the  Father,  and  He  will  give  you 
another  Comforter."  This  title  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
occurs  only  in  these  discourses.  We  find  it  first 
in  this  verse,  afterwards  in  the  twenty-sixth  verse 
of  this  chapter,  in  the  twenty-sixth  verse  of  the 
next  chapter,  and  in  the  seventh  verse  of  the 
sixteenth  chapter.  The  word  is  only  used  in  one 
other  passage  in  the  New  Testament,  and  there 
it   refers   to   our    Lord    Himself       For   in    his    first 

105 


^  Z^ix'b  2^^ur6bag  in  &enf. 

Epistle,  S.  John  says,  "  And  if  any  man  sin  we 
have  an  Advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ 
the  righteous ;  and  He  is  the  propitiation  for  our 
sins.  * 

Beautiful  as  the  title  "  Comforter "  is,  and  truly 
as  it  represents  one  great  aspect  of  the  work  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  it  can  be 
regarded  as  a  translation  of  the  Greek  irapdKKrjTos  in 
these  passages,  since  the  Greek  word  can  only  be 
passive,  while  the  word  Comforter  is  active  in  its 
signification.  If  we  take  the  word  Paraclete  to 
pieces  we  find  it  is  compounded  of  two  words,  Trapd 
and  kKtjtos,  and  that  it  means  literally  one  who  is 
called  to  your  side  to  help  you  in  some  emergency  or 
difficulty.  The  word  Trapd/cXj^ro?  is  a  forensic  term,  a 
legal  term,  generally  applied  to  the  advocate  for  the 
defence  in  a  lawsuit,  and  thus  it  perfectly  brings 
before  us  what  the  Holy  Ghost  is — a  Divine  Person, 
Who  is  called  to  our  side  to  help  us,  to  plead  for  us. 
As  S.  Paul  says,  *'  The  Spirit  Itself  maketh  inter- 
cession for  us  with  groanings  which  cannot  be 
uttered. "-f  The  translation  in  S.  John's  Epistle, 
"  the  Advocate,"  is  an  accurate  representation  of 
the  Greek,  which  "Comforter"  is  not. 

Our  Lord  says,  "  I  will  ask  the  Father,  and  He 
shall  give  you  another  Comforter."     Wc  may  notice 

*  I  S.  John  ii.  i.  f   Rom.  viii.  26. 

106 


t^e  Comforter.  ^ 

the  word  "  another/'  which  implies  that  they  had 
already  had  one  Comforter,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
Himself,  and  this  S.  John  shows  in  the  passage  we 
have  just  quoted,  where  he  says,  "If  any  man  sin  we 
have  an  Advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ  the 
righteous."  Their  Comforter,  their  Advocate,  Christ, 
was  about  to  depart,  and  He  promises  that  another 
Comforter,  another  Advocate,  should  take  His  place, 
and  by  His  operation  bring  back  to  them,  under  a 
new  and  more  intimate  relationship,  their  Lord  and 
Master.  For  Christ  goes  on  to  say,  "  I  will  not 
leave  you  orphans  or  comfortless :  I  will  come  to 
you." 

Since  the  title  "'  The  Comforter "  brings  before 
us  a  very  important  aspect  of  the  work  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  in  our  souls,  it  may  be  well  for  us 
to  dwell  for  a  moment  on  the  character  of  the 
comfort  which  he  ministers.  "  Comforter,"  which  is 
a  Latin  word,  really  means  the  strengthener,  one 
who,  by  his  words,  encourages  another,  arousing 
in  him  the  spirit  of  bravery  or  courage.  We 
often  use  the  word  comfort  in  such  a  different 
sense  that  it  is  well  to  notice  its  true  significance. 
We  speak  of  the  comforts  of  life  or  of  home, 
even  meaning  its  luxuries.  But  luxuries  have 
an  enervating  rather  than  a  stimulating  effect 
upon    us,    whereas     the     derivation     of    the     word 

107 


-^  ^gtrb  ^^urgbag  in  &ent> 

**  comfort,"  signifies  that  which  strengthens  us, 
not  that  which  enervates  us. 

The  Holy  Ghost  ministers  to  us  in  our  sorrows, 
bringing  to  us  consolations  of  grace,  and  He 
does  this  chiefly  in  three  ways  : — 

First,  He  enlightens  our  intellect,  enabling  us 
to  see  the  true  end  and  purpose  of  sorrow  and 
adversity,  that  by  it  God's  Will  is  fulfilled  in  us, 
and  that  through  adversity  the  various  faculties 
of  the  soul  are  developed  and  character  is 
moulded  and  formed  for  eternity.  It  was  this 
illumination  of  his  intellect  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 
v^hich  enabled  S.  Paul  to  say,  "  Our  light  affliction, 
which  is  but  for  a  moment,  worketh  for  us  a  far 
more  exceeding  and  eternal   weight  of  glory."* 

Then  again  the  Holy  Spirit  strengthens  our 
will  by  His  grace,  enabling  us  to  endure  our  trials 
with  patience,  and  teaching  us  the  blessedness  of 
this  endurance  according  to  the  words  of  S.  James, 
"Blessed  is  the  man  that  endureth  temptation; 
for  when  he  is  tried,  he  shall  receive  the  crown 
of  life,  which  the  Lord  hath  promised  to  them 
that  love  Him."f  We  must  remember  S.  Paul's 
words,  that  "  God  is  faithful,  Who  will  not  suffer 
you  to  be  tempted  above  that  ye  are  able ;  but 
will  with  the  temptation  make  the    way  to    escape, 

*    I  Cor.  iv.  17.  t  •^-  Jiinics  i.  12, 

108 


€^e  Comforter.  ^ 

that  ye  may  be  able  to  bear  it""*^  The  way  to 
escape,  of  which  he  speaks,  is  evidently  not  escape 
from  the  trial,  but  from  failure  under  trial ;  for 
the  purpose  for  which  this  way  of  escape  is  given 
is  that  we  may  be  able  to  bear  the  trial,  that  is, 
that  we  may  be  strong  to  endure  patiently 
whatever  testing  God  sends  us.  It  is  not  getting 
rid  of  difficulties  which  perfects  us  in  Christian 
life  and  character ;  but  patient  endurance  of  them, 
nay,  even  joyful  endurance  ;  because  we  realise 
the  greatness  of  the  work  which  they  are  intended 
to  effect  in  us.  As  S.  James  says,  "  Count  it 
all  joy  when  ye  fall  into  divers  temptations ; 
knowing  this,  that  the  trying  of  your  faith 
worketh  patience.  But  let  patience  have  her 
perfect  work,  that  ye  may  be  perfect  and  entire, 
wanting  nothing."f 

And,  lastly,  the  Holy  Ghost  kindles  our  affec- 
tions with  love  for  God,  so  that  we  not  merely 
endure  our  adversities  and  bear  our  cross,  because 
we  see  that  they  are  the  means  by  which 
character  is  formed,  and  the  latent  possibilities 
of  the  soul  developed  ;  but  because  we  love  and 
trust  God  Who  has  sent  them,  and  because  we 
desire  to  show  that  love  by  accepting  with 
trustful  patience,  whatever  of  affliction  or  adversity 

*   I  Cor.  X.  13.  f  St.  James  i.  2-4. 

109 


God  wills  us  to  bear.  Thus  the  Christian  endures 
his  sufferings,  not  in  a  mere  spirit  of  stoical 
courage,  but  with  loving  trustfulness,  regarding 
them  not  as  a  mark  of  God's  displeasure,  but 
rather  of  God's  love.  For  it  is  revealed,  "  Whom 
the  Lord  loveth.  He  chasteneth,  and  scourgeth 
every  son  whom  He  receiveth."*  What  true 
consolation  there  is  in  the  thought  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  always  with  us  in  our  infirmities, 
strengthening  us  to  bear  our  trials,  teaching  us 
to  love  the  cross,  encouraging  us  to  persevere 
under  adversity,  until  it  has  done  its  work  in  us, 
and  God  in  His  good  providence  removes  it. 

*  Hebrews  xii.  6. 


IIO 


XV. 

e^trb  f  rtbag  in  &ent. 


THE   SPIRIT   OF  TRUTH. 


S.  John  xiv.   i6,   17. 

"And  I  will  pray  the  Father,  and  He  shall  give  you  another 
Comforter,  that  He  may  abide  with  you  for  ever.  Even  the  Spirit  of 
Truth  ;  Whom  the  world  cannot  receive,  because  it  seeth  Him  not, 
neither  knoweth  Him  :  but  ye  know  Him  ;  for  He  dwelleth  with  you, 
and  shall  be  in  you." 


HE  second  title  by  which  our  Blessed 
Lord  describes  the  Holy  Ghost  in  this 
passage  is  "  The  Spirit  of  Truth,"  and 
this  title  implies  the  distinct  personality  and  true 
divinity  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

"  The  Spirit  of  Truth."  What  does  this  mean  ? 
The  Holy  Ghost  is  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  Who  is 
the  Truth,  and  He  is  to  guide  Christ's  children 
into  all  truth,  as  we  are  told  in  the  next  chapter.* 

*  S.  John  XV.  26. 
Ill 


-^  tf^iti  Sribag  in  &eni 

All  truth  is  contained  in  the  "  deposit "  of  the 
Day  of  Pentecost.  This  was  given  to  the  Church 
at  Pentecost  potentially,  and  is  the  deposit  over  which 
S.  Paul  exhorts  S.  Timothy  to  keep  guard.*  And 
this  deposit  was  ''  the  faith  once  for  all  delivered 
unto  the  saints,"  for  which  S.  Jude,  in  his  Epistle, 
exhorts  us  earnestly  to  contend.j-  While  we  must 
realise  the  perfection  of  this  Pentecostal  gift,  that 
it  contained  in  the  germ  all  truth  ;  so  that  there 
can  be  no  new  doctrines  of  the  faith,  we  must 
also  remember  that  it  is  the  office  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  to  unfold  this  truth  according  to  the  needs 
of  different  ages. 

This  unfolding,  or  development  of  the  truth,  is 
the  special  function  of  the  Holy  Ghost  as  the 
Spirit  of  Truth.  Thus  He  supplies  the  wants  of 
every  age,  bringing  home  to  the  mind  of  the 
Church  truth  which  was  contained  in  the  revela- 
tion of  Pentecost,  truth  which  is  enshrined  in  the 
words  of  Holy  Scripture,  but  which  has  often 
remained  unnoticed  or  imperfectly  comprehended  by 
the  Church,  until  some  need  for  it  has  arisen.  Then 
the  Holy  Ghost  has  supplied  that  need  by  showing 
to  the  Church,  not  new  truth,  but  some  aspect  of 
the  original  deposit  which  met  the  exigencies  of 
the    times.     This,    which    we     may    see    again    and 

*    Cf.  \  S.  Timothy  vi.  20.  f   Cf.  S.  Jude  3. 

112 


e^e  ^pitit  of  ttut^.  ^ 

again  in  Church  history,  is  our  assurance,  that  in 
all  the  difficulties  of  future  ages,  the  Spirit  of 
Truth  will  preserve  the  Church  from  error,  and 
unfolding  the  Pentecostal  revelation  more  and  more, 
will  guide  the  Church  to  the  comprehension  of  all 
necessary  truth. 

There  are  many  doctrines  of  the  Church  which 
illustrate  this  work  of  the  Spirit  of  Truth. 
Doctrines,  which  were  implicitly  contained  in  the 
original  deposit,  of  the  faith,  but  which  were  not 
explicitly  defined  until  need  for  them  arose  in  the 
Church.  Such,  for  instance,  are  the  doctrines  of  the 
Holy  Trinity,  and  of  the  Incarnation  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

These  are  contained  in  Holy  Scripture.  They 
were  implicitly  held  by  the  Apostolic  Church. 
And  yet  we  find  that  writers  of  the  second  and 
third  centuries  treat  of  them  vaguely,  and  some- 
times even  inaccurately.  But,  when  in  the  fourth 
and  fifth  centuries  heretics  arose  who  denied  these 
doctrines,  then  the  Church,  under  the  guidance  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  in  her  ecumenical  councils,  defined 
accurately  what  was  the  truth,  and  gave  us  the 
Nicene  and  Athanasian  Creeds,  the  former  by 
conciliar  action,  the  latter  by  natural  growth,  but 
both  under  the  direct  guidance  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
Who  is  the  Spirit  of  Truth. 

113  I 


There  are  many  other  doctrines  which  have 
been  unfolded  from  time  to  time ;  but  we  must 
bear  in  mind  that  every  doctrine  in  its  full  growth 
is  identical  with  the  original  revelation  of  the  Day 
of  Pentecost.  Some  persons  have  thought  on  this 
account  that  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  have 
changed,  but  we  must  remember  that  there  is 
a  change  which  destroys,  and  a  change  which 
perfects,  the  identity  of  things.  For  instance,  all 
growth  is  change,  yet  the  oak  of  the  forest  has 
perfect  identity  with  the  acorn  from  which  it 
sprang,  and  the  change  of  ages,  which  has  passed 
upon  it,  perfects  its  identity  by  unfolding  its 
stateliness,  and  beauty,  and  strength.  On  the 
other  hand  all  decay  is  change.  When  the 
branches  of  the  oak  droop,  when  the  tree  dies  and 
falls  into  the  dust,  this  stage  is  corruption. 

By  this  rule  we  may  test  the  doctrines  of  the 
Church  in  comparison  with  those  of  the  heretics. 
For  instance,  as  we  have  shown,  wc  may  trace 
this  growth  in  the  expression  of  the  doctrine  of 
the  Holy  Trinity  from  the  Baptismal  formula  to 
the  Nicene  and  Athanasian  Creeds.  This  is 
growth,  but  absolute  identity.  So  we  may  follow 
the  doctrine  of  the  Incarnation  from  the  formula, 
"  The  Word  became  Flesh,"*  to  the  full  definitions 

*  S,  John  i.  49. 
114 


t^t  ^pixii  of  txui^.  -^ 

of  the  ecumenical  councils  against  Arians, 
Apollinarians,  Nestorians,  and  Eutychians.  So, 
too,  with  the  doctrine  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament. 
Here  again  we  have  growth  but  identity. 

If  we  test  the  same  doctrines  among  schismatics 
and  heretics,  we  find  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy 
Trinity  represented  by  a  series  of  heresies,  from 
Sabellius  to  Socinus,  or  we  may  trace  the 
progress  of  the  perversion  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
Incarnation  from  Nestorius  to  Strauss,  or  of  the 
Holy  Eucharist  from  Luther  to  Zwinglius.  Here 
is  change  indeed,  but  change  in  which  identity  is 
lost.  The  oak  has  mouldered  and  fallen  to  the 
ground. 

That  this  is  the  teaching  not  of  the  Church 
alone,  but  also  of  Holy  Scripture,  we  shall  see  if 
we  read  carefully  the  second  chapter  of  the  First 
Epistle  of  S,  John.  "  But  ye  have  an  unction 
from  the  Holy  One,  and  ye  know  all  things. 
I  have  not  written  unto  you  because  ye  know 
not  the  truth,  but  because  ye  know  it,  and  that 
no  lie  is  of  the  truth  .  .  .  But  the  anointing 
which  ye  have  received  of  Him  abideth  in  you, 
and  ye  need  not  that  any  man  teach  you  :  but  as 
the  same  anointing  teacheth  you  of  all  things,  and 
is  truth,  and  is  no  lie,  and  even  as  it  hath  taught 
you,  ye  shall  abide  in   Him."* 

*   I  S.  John  ii.  20,  21,  and  27, 


•^^^  g^irb  f  rtbag  in  feent. 

In  these  words,  S.  John,  writing  to  the  Church 
at  the  end  of  the  first  century,  affirms  : 

(i)  That  it  had  already  received  the  unction 
of  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  and  that,  therefore,  its 
members  had  no  need  to  seek  for  knowledge 
elsewhere,  because  this  unction  enabled  them  to 
know  all  things ;  for  it  was  the  unction  of  the 
Holy  Spirit. 

(2)  That  they  had  no  need  of  human  teachers : 
"  Ye  need  not  that  any  man  teach  you." 

(3)  That  this  unction  was  absolute  truth,  that 
it  is  no  lie ;  that  is,  it  is  not  mixed  with  any 
falsehood,  error,  or  doubt.  This  unction  rested 
first  on  our  great  High  Priest,  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Head  of  the  Church,  and  from  Him  descends 
upon  His  Body  which  is  the  Church,  and  goes 
"  down  to  the  skirts  of  His  clothing,"  that  is,  to  the 
members  who  abide  in  the  Church. 

In  regard  to  the  character  of  the  presence  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  Church,  our  Lord  in  this 
passage  teaches  us  three  things  : 

(i)  "  He  shall  abide  with  you  for  ever."  Christ's 
historical  presence  might  at  that  time  be  measured 
by  hours,  He  was  soon  to  leave  them  ;  at  the 
longest,  from  the  beginning  of  His  ministry,  it 
was  measured  only  by  years.  But  the  Holy 
Ghost  comes   that   He   may  abide   with  the  Church 

116 


t^e  ^ytrtt  of  trui^.  «•»• 

for  ever.  This  is  not  a  transient  presence,  but  a 
continual  presence,  preserving  the  Church  from  all 
error,  guiding  her  into  all  truth. 

(2)  It  is,  however,  a  presence  which  the  world 
cannot  apprehend  :  *'  Whom  the  world  cannot 
receive  because  it  seeth  Him  not  neither  knoweth 
Him."  With  the  world,  lack  of  the  capacity  of 
sight  made  reception  of  the  Holy  Ghost  impossible  ; 
with  the  disciples,  on  the  other  hand,  His  presence 
brought  knowledge  which  gave  them  greater  power 
of  reception  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  For  Christ  goes 
on  to  say :  "  But  ye  know  Him  :  for  He  dwelleth 
with  you  and  shall  be  in  you." 

We  may  ask  how  they  had  come  to  know  the 
Holy  Ghost  when  this  was  apparently  the  first 
time  they  had  heard  of  Him.  They  had  come 
to  know  Him  through  Christ,  for  in  Christ  the 
Spirit  was  always  truly  present,  though  not  in 
His  characteristic  manifestation  ;  just  as  Christ 
now  is  ever  present  with  His  Church  through 
the  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  doctrine 
of  the  Circumincession  teaches  us  that  where 
any  one  Person  of  the  Holy  Trinity  is,  there 
the  Others  are  also.  That  whatever  any  one 
Person  of  the  Holy  Trinity  does  the  Others  share 
in  that  action.  So  the  Holy  Spirit  was  in  Christ 
when    Christ  was   in    the   world,   just   as    Christ    is 

117 


'^§  ^^irb  :§'ribag  in  kcnt. 

present  now  through  the  operations  of  the  Holy 
Spirit. 

(3)  "  Dwelleth  with  you,  and  shall  be  in  you." 
"  Dwelleth  with  you  "  {nap'  vfxiv  fxevei)  might  be 
nnore  accurately  rendered,  "  abideth  by  your  side." 
And  in  these  words  we  have  brought  before  us  an 
important  theological  doctrine.  Before  Pentecost 
the  Holy  Ghost  was  abiding  close  to  them,  as  it 
were  by  their  side,  for  He  was  the  Spirit  of  Christ. 
But  there  was  no  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
in  man  until  Pentecost.  We  observe  that  our 
Lord,  speaking  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  says  to  the 
disciples,  He  abideth  by  your  side  (that  is,  before 
Pentecost),  but  He  adds,  "  And  He  shall  be  in 
you,"  that  is,  in  the  near  future,  after  Pentecost. 

In  the  Old  Testament  the  Holy  Ghost  was 
God's  Agent,  as  He  is  now  ;  but  He  worked  in 
a  different  way.  "  He  spake  by  the  Prophets " 
the  Creed  tells  us,  but  He  did  not  dwell  in  them. 
His  action  upon  them  and  upon  others  was  but 
transient.  Now  in  the  Church  and  in  the  Christian 
soul  it  is  permanent  ;  there  is  an  abiding  presence. 
He  is  given  to  us  that  He  may  abide  with  us  for 
ever. 


118 


XVI. 

Z^ith  ^aturbag  in  SLtni. 


CHRISrS  COMING  THROUGH  THE 
HOLY  GHOST. 


S.   John  xiv.   18-20. 

"  I  will  not  leave  you  comfortless :  I  will  come  to  you.  Yet  a  little 
while,  and  the  world  seeth  Me  no  more  ;  but  ye  see  Me :  because  I 
live,  ye  shall  live  also.  At  that  day  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  in  My 
Father,  and  ye  in  Me,  and  I  in  you.  He  that  hath  My  command- 
ments, and  keepeth  them,  he  it  is  that  loveth  Me  :  and  he  that  loveth 
Me  shall  be  loved  of  My  Father,  and  I  will  love  him,  and  will 
manifest  Myself  to  him. ' ' 

THIRD  cause  of  consolation  which  our 
Lord  sets  before  His  disciples  in  this 
chapter  is  that  after  His  departure,  and 
through  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  He  Himself 
will  come  to  His  disciples  in  a  union  more  intimate 
than  the  fellowship  which  they  had  enjoyed  with 
Him  in  His  life  on  earth.     He  says,  "  I  will  not  leave 

119 


^^ 


i^ixi  ^afurbdg  in   &cnt. 


you  comfortless  :  I  will  come  to  you."  The  word 
translated  "comfortless"  (dpcpavovs)  is  really  "orphans." 
'•  I  will  not  leave  you  orphans."  The  very  word 
which  describes  their  sorrow  confirms  their  son- 
ship.  When  He  departs  for  a  brief  space  they 
will  be  like  orphans.  But  even  this  shows  their 
true  relation  to  Christ,  that  they  are  His  children, 
and  He  promises,  "  I  will  not  leave  you  orphans  : 
I  will  come  to  you  :  "  or  as  we  should  read 
it,  "I  am  coming  to  you,"  for  the  verb  {^px^f^^O 
is  in  the  present  tense,  not  in  the  future.  "  I  am 
continually  coming  to  you  and  to  the  Church  in 
all  the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost ; "  for  all  the  great 
operations  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  Church  are  but 
the  energies  of  the  living  and  reigning  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  Who  comes  to  us  also  as  individuals  through 
the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  our  own  .souls. 

In  how  many  ways  does  our  Blessed  Lord  come  to 
us  through  the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  us  ?  He 
comes  to  us  in  the  hour  of  prayer  :  we  not  only  pray 
in  His  Name,  that  is  through  His  merits,  but  with 
Him,  in  the  realisation  of  His  great  intercession  at 
the  right  hand  of  the  Father.  He  comes  to  us  at  the 
time  of  meditation,  when  we  are  pondering  upon  the 
words  in  the  Holy  Gospel,  which  depict  some  scene 
in  His  life,  or  record  His  teaching.  The  sacred  page 
glows  under  the  illumination  of  the  Hcjly  Ghost,  and 

120 


C^rtefe   Coming.  ^^ 

the  actions  and  utterances  of  our  Lord  come  to  us 
with  greater  power  probably  than  they  exercised 
over  the  Apostles  who  heard  them,  but  had  not 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  bring  them  home  to  their 
souls. 

He  comes  to  us  at  the  moment  of  temptation  to 
help  us  by  His  grace  to  resist  and  to  conquer — He 
Who  once  "  was  in  all  points  tempted  like  as  we  are, 
yet  without  sin."*  He  comes  to  us  in  the  Holy 
Communion  to  give  us  strength  to  bear  the  burdens 
of  life,  to  do  the  work  to  which  we  are  called,  to 
guide  us  in  our  difficulties  that  we  may  not  only 
rejoice  in  our  union  with  Him,  but  in  the  power  of 
His  grace  may  fulfil  God's  purposes  for  us,  meeting 
with  courage  the  obstacles  which  the  world  puts 
in  our  way. 

He  comes  to  us  in  our  joys  to  show  His  interest 
in  us.  He  comes  to  us  in  our  sorrows  to  tell  us 
of  His  sympathy  for  us.  He  comes  to  us  in  the 
days  of  sickness  to  teach  us  to  bear  with  patience 
the  discipline  of  ill  health,  and  to  unite  our  little 
sufferings  to  the  great  pains  of  His  Passion. 

Lastly,  He  comes  to  us  in  the  hour  of  death  to 
strengthen  us  for  the  last  great  struggle.  If  David 
could  say,  "Yea,  though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of 
the  shadow  of  death,  I  will  fear  no  evil  :  for  Thou  art 

*  Heb.  iv.  15. 
121 


with  me  ;  Thy  rod  and  Thy  staff  they  comfort  me/"'' 
how  much  more  can  we  make  these  words  our  own 
as  we  pass  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  leaning 
upon  our  Beloved.  As  He  has  come  to  us  in  all 
the  various  vicissitudes  of  our  life  here,  so  He  will 
take  us  to  be  with  Him  in  that  glorious  life  hereafter, 
where,  if  we  have  been  faithful,  we  shall  learn  that 
our  light  affliction  in  this  world  has  worked  for  us  a 
far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory  in 
the  world  beyond,  in  heaven  itself. 

"Yet  a  little  while,  and  the  world  seeth  Me  no 
more  ;  but  ye  see  Me :  because  I  live  ye  shall  live 
also."  The  world  was  to  behold  Him  but  a  little 
while  longer,  for  its  followers  deprived  themselves 
of  the  power  of  seeing  Him  by  their  own  act  when 
they  crucified  Him.  But  even  while  they  still  behold 
Him,  they  only  behold  Him  with  that  outward 
vision  which  could  see  but  His  natural  life.  His 
disciples,  however,  had  another  kind  of  vision,  so 
that,  although  His  death  was  to  remove  Him  from 
their  natural  sight,  it  did  not  interfere  with  that 
spiritual  vision  through  which  they  received  mani- 
festations of  Himself,  and,  indeed,  after  Pentecost 
this  power  of  spiritual  vision,  by  which  they  received 
revelations  of  Christ,  was  to  be  immensely  increased. 

"  The  world  seeth  Me  no  more  ;  but  ye  see  Me." 

*   Psalm  xxiii.  4. 
122 


C^txBfB  Coming,  ^ 

Ye  see  Me  always.  But  He  promises  more  than 
this  :  "  Because  I  live,  ye  shall  live  also."  Fellow- 
ship with  Christ  involved  not  only  sig-k^  but  /z/e. 
Not  only  were  they  to  receive  revelations  of  Christ, 
but  they  were  so  to  be  made  one  with  Christ  through 
Baptism,  so  that,  with  S.  Paul,  they  could  say,  ''  I 
live ;  yet  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me."*  And 
this  incorporation  is  the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Made  one  with  Christ  in  Baptism,  that  union  grows 
and  increases,  as  we  feed  upon  Christ  through  medi- 
tation upon  His  words,  and  in  the  Holy  Eucharist 
receive  the  very  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ,  so  that 
we  are  able  to  live  by  His  life. 

"  At  that  day  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  in  My 
Father,  and  ye  in  Me,  and  I  in  you."  "  At  that 
day."  At  what  day  ?  The  day  in  which  the  new 
revelation  is  realised  :  the  day  which  began  at 
Pentecost,  and  lasts  for  the  Church  until  Christ's 
return.  But  for  the  individual  soul  it  is  the  day 
in  which  we  realise  the  fulness  of  our  fellowship 
with  Christ  through  the  operation  of  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  it  is  the  day  of  our  intensest  joy,  the  day  of 
our  spiritual  awakening,  the  day  when  we  realise 
we  are  Christ's,  not  merely  in  name,  but  in  deed, 
the  day  in  which  we  realise  that  we  live,  and  yet 
not   we,  but  Christ  liveth  in  us. 

*  Gal.  ii.  20. 
123 


^^  C^trb  gaturbgg  in  &cnt 

"At  that  day  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  in  the 
Father."  Then  should  they  apprehend  Christ's 
union  with  Him  Who  is  not  only  t/ie  Father,  but 
His  Father.  That  is  to  say,  they  should  then 
realise  the  true  relation  of  Christ  to  God  the 
Father,  and  their  relation  to  the  Father  through 
their  union  with  Christ  This  is  what  S.  Paul 
means  when  he  says,  "  For  as  many  as  are  led  by 
the  Spirit  of  God,  they  are  the  sons  of  God.  For 
ye  have  not  received  the  Spirit  of  bondage  again 
to  fear  ;  but  ye  have  received  the  Spirit  of  adoption, 
whereby  we  cry,  Abba,  Father.  The  Spirit  itself 
beareth  witness  with  our  spirit,  that  we  are  the 
children  of  God:  and  if  children,  then  heirs;  heirs 
of  God,  and  joint-heirs  with  Christ."*  We  are 
children  of  God,  not  only  by  creation,  as  all  the 
heathen  are  God's  children,  but  we  are  children  by 
adoption,  that  is,  God  is  our  Father  because  He  is 
the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  because 
we  are  incorporated  into  His  Body  and  live  with 
His  Life. 

"  At  that  day  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  in  My 
Father,  and  ye  in  Me,  and  I  in  you."  So  we  are 
taught  that  in  order  to  know  the  Father,  in  order 
to  see  the  Father  (as  S.  Philip  asked  to  see  Him), 
we    must    have    communion    with    Jesus    Christ    in 

*   Rom.  viii.  14-18. 
124 


C^mf  6  Coming.  ^ 

His  Humanity.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  in  order 
to  have  the  fullest  and  most  intimate  union  with 
this  Humanity,  we  must  realise  its  exaltation  into 
God,  for  only  as  Christ  is  in  the  Father  is  He  able 
to  be  with  us  and  in  us,  through  the  operation  of 
the  Holy  Spirit. 

"  He  that  hath  My  commandments,  and  keepeth 
them,  he  it  is  that  loveth  Me :  and  he  that  loveth 
Me  shall  be  loved  of  My  Father,  and  I  will  love 
him,  and  will  manifest  Myself  to  him."  This  verse 
must  be  compared  with  the  fifteenth  verse,  of  which 
it  is  the  converse,  "  If  ye  love  Me,  ye  will  keep  My 
commandments."  There  obedience  is  shown  to  be 
the  consequence  of  love :  ''  If  ye  love  Me,  ye  will 
keep  My  commandments."  Here  obedience  is  shown 
to  be  the  evidence  of  love :  "  He  that  hath  My 
commandments  and  keepeth  them,  he  it  is  that 
loveth  Me." 

But  more,  "  and  he  that  loveth  Me  shall  be  loved 
of  My  Father,"  not  merely  in  the  sense  and  in 
the  degree  in  which  God  loves  the  world  at  large, 
but  in  a  peculiar  and  individual  degree,  as  the  father 
loves  the  child  who  is  specially  dear  to  him  because 
he  fulfils  all  his  purposes  and  satisfies  all  his  hopes. 
In  other  words,  we  shall  be  loved  of  the  Father 
because  we  love  Christ,  Who  is  the  superlative 
object  of  the  Father's  affection,  the  only  begotten 

125 


^  ^^irb  ^aturbag  in  SLcni. 


Son  of  God,  and  this  love  for  Christ  we  prove  by 
our  obedience  to   His  teachings. 

But  there  is  yet  more,  "  And  I  will  love  him, 
and  will  manifest  Myself  to  him."  The  word 
"manifest"  in  this  verse  is  emphatic  and  signifies  a 
close  revelation  of  Christ's  Person.  "  He  that  loveth 
Me,  shall  be  loved  of  My  Father  :  and  I  will  love 
him,  and  will  manifest  Myself  to  him."  The  word 
"  manifest "  implies  that  our  Lord  will  make  clear 
to  those  who  love  Him  with  this  perfect  love,  His 
nature  and  character,  in  a  union  so  intimate  that 
it  can  only  exist  in  the  soul  which  has  given  itself 
up  altogether  to  the  love  of  Christ. 


126 


XVII. 

€^trb  (tttonbdg  in  Sitnt 


THE    QUESTION   OF   S.  JUDE. 


S.  John  xiv.  22-24. 

"Judas  saith  unto  Him,  not  Iscariot,  Lord,  how  is  it  that  Thou 
wilt  manifest  Thyself  unto  us,  and  not  unto  the  world?  Jesus 
answered  and  said  unto  him,  If  a  man  love  Me,  he  will  keep  My 
words  :  and  My  Father  will  love  him,  and  We  will  come  unto  him, 
and  make  Our  abode  with  him.  He  that  lovcth  Me  not  keepeth 
not  My  sayings  :  and  the  word  which  ye  hear  is  not  Mine,  but  the 
Father's  which  sent  Me." 

UDAS  said  unto  Him,  not  Iscariot,  Lord, 
how  is  it  that  Thou  wilt  manifest  Thyself 
unto  us,  and  not  unto  the  world  ? " 
This  Judas  is  the  apostle  who  is  brought  before  us 
in  the  lists  of  the  apostles  given  by  S.  Matthew  and 
S.  Mark*  under  the  name  of  Thaddaeus,  and  in  that 

*  S.  Matt.  X.  3.     S.  Mark  iii.  18. 
127 


^  tf^ixi)  (Utonbag  in   S^tnt 

jriven  by  S.  Luke  as  Judas  the  son  (not  the  brother) 
of  James.*  We  know  absolutely  nothing  about  him 
except  that  he  asked  this  question  of  our  Lord. 
Some  have  identified  him  with  the  S.  Jude  who  wrote 
the  Epistle.  But  that  Judas  was  a  brother  not  a  son 
of  James,  and  was  one  of  our  Lord's  '*  brethren  ; " 
moreover  it  is  extremely  doubtful,  or  rather  im- 
probable, that  any  of  our  Lord's  brethren  were 
numbered  among  the  twelve  Apostles.  We  are  so 
distinctly  told  in  the  Gospels  "  neither  did  His 
brethren  believe  in  Him,"t  that  it  seems  impossible 
to  suppose  that  they  could  have  been  among  the 
Apostles.  Since  we  know  nothing  about  this  S. 
Jude,  except  that  he  asked  this  question  of  our 
Lord,  we  are  not  able,  as  in  the  case  of  S.  Peter 
and  S.  Thomas  and  S.  Philip,  to  investigate  his 
character  and  spiritual  development. 

He  interrupts  our  Lord  with  a  fourth  question, 
and,  as  in  the  previous  questions,  Christ's  answer 
clears  up  certain  difficulties.  S.  Peter  had  asked, 
''  Why  cannot  I  follow  Thee  now  ?  "  and  Christ  had 
shown  that  none  can  follow  Him  into  His  Kingdom 
in  Heaven  until  they  have  been  prepared  for  it  by 
following    Him    in    obedience    and    suffering  in   His 

*  S.  Luke  vi.  i6.      Our  version  is  wrong  in  inserting  "brother"  in 
this  place. 

t  S.  John  vii.  5.      Cj.  also  S.  Mark  iii.  21. 

128 


t^c  ^uegtion  of  ^>  %xibe.  ^ 

Kingdom  on  earth.  S.  Thomas  had  asked,  "  We 
know  not  whither  Thou  goest ;  and  how  can  we  know 
the  way  ?  "  and  Jesus  had  revealed  that  He  Himself 
was  the  Way  :  "  No  man  cometh  to  the  Father  but 
by  Me."  "  I  am  the  Way,  the  Truth,  and  the  Life." 
S.  Philip  had  said,  "  Show  us  the  Father,  and  it 
sufficeth  us,"  and  our  Lord  had  replied  to  him  :  "  He 
that  hath  seen  Me  hath  seen  the  Father,"  and  then 
had  gone  on  to  show  him  how  He  Himself  revealed 
the  Father. 

Now  another  disciple,  S.  Jude,  asks  a  further 
question.  "  How  is  it  that  Thou  wilt  manifest 
Thyself  unto  us,  and  not  unto  the  world  ? "  The 
clause  translated  "  how  is  it,"  etc.  (W  yeyovev)  ought  to 
be,  "  What  has  happened  that  Thou  wilt  manifest 
Thyself  unto  us,  and  not  unto  the  world  ?  What  has 
happened  to  change  Thy  plans  ?  Surely  as  Messiah 
Thou  wouldest  reveal  Thy  glory  publicly  to  the 
world.  For  this  the  Jewish  nation  has  long  hoped. 
What  then  has  happened  to  cause  Thee  to  change 
these  plans  and  to  tell  us  that  Thou  art  about  to  limit 
the  revelation  of  Thy  glory  to  us,  Thy  disciples  ? " 

This  is  the  idea  which  the  question  of  S.  Jude 
expresses,  and  we  shall  remember  that  a  similar  idea 
is  contained  in  the  words  of  His  brethren  to  our  Lord 
at  an  earlier  period  of  His  ministry,  when  they  said 
to  Him,  "  Depart  hence,  and  go  into  Judaea,  that  Thy 

129  K 


^  i^ix'b  (tttonbctg  in  Si,cnt. 

disciples  also  may  see  the  works  that  Thou  doest. 
For  there  is  no  man  that  doeth  anything  in  secret, 
and  he  himself  seeketh  to  be  known  openly.  If 
Thou  do  these  things  show  Thyself  to  the  world."* 
As  is  so  often  the  case,  our  Lord's  reply  does  not 
appear  to  be  a  direct  answer  to  the  question, 
although,  if  we  study  it  carefully,  we  shall  find 
that  it  is  more  than  an  answer,  in  that  it  indicates 
the  true  cause  why  Christ  did  not  manifest  His 
Messiahship  at  that  time  to  the  world. 

The  Jews  were  expecting  a  political  Messiah,  who 
should  deliver  them  from  foreign  foes,  from  their 
Roman  masters,  and  should  make  the  nation  glorious 
as  it  was  in  the  time  of  Solomon,  or  rather,  more 
glorious  than  it  had  ever  been.  There  is  little  doubt 
that  most  of  the  Apostles  shared  in  this  expectation 
in  spite  of  many  warning  utterances  of  Christ.  Even 
after  His  resurrection  we  find  that  they  asked  Him, 
"  Lord,  wilt  Thou  at  this  time  restore  again  the 
kingdom  to  Israel  ?"t  They  looked  for  the  setting 
up  of  a  temporal  kingdom  of  great  power  and  glory, 
and  it  was  not  until  they  had  been  enlightened  by 
the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  at  Pentecost  that  they 
were  able  to  understand  that  Christ's  kingdom  was 
not  of  this  world,  was  not  a  temporal  kingdom 
amongst   the    kingdoms    of    the    earth,   but    was    a 

♦   S.  Juhn  vii.  3,  4.  t  Acts  i,  6. 

130 


t^c  <£^uegtton  of  g>  gube.  ^ 

universal  kingdom  over  men's  minds  and  souls,  a 
spiritual  kingdom,  the  kingdom  of  truth  and 
righteousness. 

But  let  us  examine  our  Lord's  answer,  for  it 
contains  a  very  important  declaration  of  the  law 
of  the  progress  of  God's  revelation  to  man.  We  see 
first  the  condition  of  this  revelation,  that  it  depends 
upon  obedience  resting  upon  personal  love,  and  then 
the  mode  of  this  revelation,  which  is  shown  to  be  the 
operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  For  in  verse  twenty- 
six  our  Lord  goes  on  to  speak  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
Who  was  to  bring  all  things  to  their  remembrance. 
To  this  is  added  a  recapitulation  of  Christ's  work  for 
His  people,  both  in  Heaven  and  earth,  with  which 
the  chapter  concludes. 

''Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him,  if  a  man  love 
Me,  he  will  keep  My  words  ;  and  My  Father  will 
love  him,  and  We  will  come  unto  him,  and  make 
Our  abode  with  Him."  The  first  clause  is  practically 
a  repetition  of  verse  fifteen,  "  If  ye  love  Me,  ye  will 
keep  My  commandments."  If  a  man  love  Me,  he 
will  keep  My  zuord,  not  words,  for  here  the  word 
referred  to  is  the  Gospel,  containing,  as  it  does, 
Christ's  own  commands.  But  to  this  He  adds,  not 
as  in  verse  eighteen,  "  I  will  come  to  you"  but  "  We 
will  come,"  My  Father  and  I.  Thus  implying,  of 
course.  His  true  divinity. 

131 


'^  Z^it'b  (Blonbdg  in  iLCnt, 

"  We  will  come  to  him  and  make  Our  abode  with 
him."  Here  the  thought  carries  us  back  to  the  first 
verse.     "  In  My  Father's  house  are  many  mansions." 

We  have  already  noticed  that  the  word  ftoi"?,  trans- 
lated "  mansions,"  occurs  only  twice  in  the  New 
Testament,  both  times  in  this  chapter — in  the  first 
verse  and  in  the  present  verse.  '*  For  We  will  make 
Our  abode  with  him"  is,  if  we  are  to  retain  the  same 
translation  of  f  ovj;,  "  We  will  make  our  inansion  with 
him." 

Surely  this  introduces  us  to  one  of  the  deepest 
mysteries  of  Christian  experience.  Not  only  has 
Christ  gone  to  prepare  a  place  for  us  in  the  many 
mansions  of  His  Father's  house,  but  if  we,  through 
love  and  obedience,  prepare  a  place  for  God  in  our 
souls,  He  will  come  and  take  up  His  abode  with  us. 
This  verse  is  paralleled  by  the  passage  in  the  Epistle 
to  the  Church  of  Laodicea  :  "  Behold,  I  stand  at  the 
door,  and  knock  :  if  any  man  hear  My  voice,  and 
open  the  door,  I  will  come  in  to  him,  and  sup  with 
him."- 

It  is  comparatively  easy  for  us  to  conceive  of 
Christ  preparing  a  place  for  us  in  Heaven,  but  now 
He  reveals  to  us  that  we  need  not  wait  for  this,  that 
if  we  will  but  prepare  our  hearts,  God  the  Father,  the 
Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  will  come  and  make  Their 

*   Rev.  iii.  20. 
132 


tU  iX^CBtion  of  g>  gube,  ^ 

abode  in  us  ;  so  that  we  can  have  Heaven  within 
us  with  all  its  joys,  even  though  we  are  surrounded 
by  the  sorrows  and  struggles  of  the  life  of  this 
world. 

But  this  wonderful  union  of  the  soul  with  God, 
which  is  the  climax  of  our  Lord's  revelation,  has  its 
condition.  We  must  not  forget  it.  The  condition  is 
obedience  which  springs  from  personal  love.  "  If  a 
man  love  Me,  he  will  keep  My  words  :  and  My 
Father  will  love  him,  and  We  will  come  unto  him, 
and  make  Our  abode  with  him."  The  capacity  to 
receive  Christ's  revelation  and  the  capacity  to 
possess  God's  presence  in  the  soul  depends  upon  this 
loving  obedience.  Therefore,  our  Lord  goes  on  to 
say,  "  He  that  loveth  Me  not,  keepeth  not  My 
sayings  ;  and  the  word  which  ye  hear  is  not  Mine, 
but   the  Father's  Which  sent   Me." 

This  is  the  real  answer  to  S.  Jude's  question, 
"  What  has  happened  that  Thou  wilt  manifest 
Thyself  unto  us,  and  not  unto  the  world  ?  "  That 
which  had  happened  was  this,  that  the  love  of  the 
disciples  rendered  them,  even  imperfect  as  they 
were — rendered  t/ie7n  capable  of  receiving  Christ's 
revelation  ;  while  the  lack  of  love  on  the  part  of  the 
world  rendered  the  world  incapable  of  receiving  it. 
The  reason  that  Christ  would  manifest  His  glory  to 
the  disciples  and  not  to  the  world,  was  that  the  world 

133 


^^  tf^ix'b  (Blonbag  in  £enf. 

had  no  eyes  to  see,  no  capacity  to  receive  it,  and  the 
want  of  sight  and  the  want  of  capacity  was  to  be 
traced  back  to  the  lack  of  love.  Thus  we  are  told 
that  disobedience  to  Christ's  words  (that  is,  to  the 
constituent  parts  of  His  one  word,  the  Gospel)  is, 
in  fact,  disobedience  to  God,  manifesting  Himself 
under  the  aspect  of  Love. 

There  are  some,  alas,  who  reject  Christ's  words, 
and  yet  profess  to  believe  in  God.  Those,  for 
instance,  whom  we  call  Unitarians.  If  we  were  to 
ask  them  what  was  their  conception  of  God,  they 
would  probably  reply,  "  God  is  Love,"  and  yet  they 
reject  the  one  and  only  manifestation  of  perfect  love 
in  Jesus  Christ,  which  the  world  has  ever  seen. 
When  our  Lord  says,  "  He  that  loveth  Me  not, 
keepeth  not  My  sayings  :  and  the  words  which  ye 
hear  are  not  Mine,  but  the  Father's,  Which  sent  Me." 
He  shows  that  those  who  love  Him  not,  and  keep  not 
His  commandments,  cannot  receive  the  full  revelation 
of  the  Father — that  in  rejecting  Christ's  words,  they 
are  really  rejecting  God,  manifested  under  His 
attribute  of  Love. 


134 


XVIII. 


CHRISrS   LEGACY  TO   HIS   DISCIPLES. 


S.  John  xiv.  25-27. 

"  These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  bemg  yet  present  with  you. 
But  the  Comforter,  which  is  the  Holy  Ghost,  whonr.  the  Fathei 
will  5.-end  in  My  name.  He  shall  teach  you  all  things,  and  bring  all 
things  to  your  remembrance,  whatsoever  I  have  said  unto  you. 
Peace  I  leave  with  you,  My  peace  I  give  unto  you  :  not  as  the 
world  giveth,  give  I  unto  you.  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled, 
neither  let  it  be  afraid." 


N  the  last  section  our  Lord  revealed  the 
condition  on  which  the  reception  of 
revelation  depends — obedience  resting  upon 
personal  love,  without  which  the  capacity  to  receive 
revelation  cannot  exist.  Now  we  are  told  of  the 
mode  of  revelation.  It  is  by  the  operation  of  the 
Holy    Ghost,    and    in    regard    to    this   operation   we 

135 


•0^^  t^ix'b  ^uesbdg  in  Si^cni, 

are  taught  four  things,  (i)  That  the  Holy  GhoFt 
is  sent  by  the  Father.  (2)  That  He  comes  in 
Christ's  name,  character,  and  power.  (3)  That  He 
comes  to  teach  us  all  things  ;  and  (4)  that  Ke  is 
to  bring  to  our  remembrance  and  to  make  clear 
to  our  understanding  all  that  Christ  taught  His 
disciples. 

"These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  being 
yet  present  with  you."  "  These  things "  refer  to 
the  consolations  given  by  our  Lord  to  His  disciples 
in  the  previous  part  of  the  chapter,  and  they  are 
put  in  antithesis  to  the  "  all  things  "  which  the  Holy 
Ghost  was  to  teach  them.  The  earthiy  teaching 
of  Christ  was  limited  by  the  circumstances  under 
which  it  was  given,  especially  by  the  unenlightened 
character  of  the  disciples  before  Pentecost.  This 
teaching  of  Christ,  however,  was  to  be  completed 
by  being  filled  out  and  developed  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  the  Church. 

"  But  the  Comforter,  Which  is  the  Holy  Ghost." 
This  is  the  only  place  in  the  Gospel  in  which  we 
have  the  full  emphatic  title  "  the  Holy  Ghost." 
In  our  Bible  we  find  the  title  several  times  in  the 
Synoptic  Gospels,"*^  but  the  form  in  the  original 
Greek   is   quite   different.       There   it   is,  nuevfia   "lyiou, 

*  S.   Malt.   i.    18,   20;    iii.    11  ;  S.    Mark  i.   8  ;    S.   Luke   iii.    16; 
S.  John  i.  3^. 

136 


C^tiBf 6  £egacg  fo  ^xb  ©iBctpfeB.  ^ 

without  the  article.  Whereas  here  it  is,  t6  nvevfia  t6 
ayiov,  signifying  the  Spirit,  Which  is  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Our  Lord  in  this  passage,  and  again  in  the  thirteenth 
verse  of  the  sixteenth  chapter,  speaks  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  as  the  Teacher  and  Guide,  Who  is  to  lead 
them  into  all  truth.  As  the  latter  passage  is 
somewhat  fuller  in  its  treatment  of  this  aspect  of 
the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  we  shall  pass  over 
the  present  verse  and  consider  it  when  we  come 
to  treat  of  the  parallel  passage. 

"  Peace  I  leave  with  you,  My  peace  I  give  unto 
you  ;  not  as  the  world  giveth,  give  I  unto  you. 
Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled,  neither  let  it  be 
afraid."  This  is  our  Lord's  solemn  farewell  and 
last  legacy  to  His  disciples.  "  Peace  I  leave  with 
you,  My  peace  I  give  unto  you."  And  what  sort 
of  peace  is  tliis,  of  which  our  Lord  speaks  as  I/z's 
peace,  and  which  He  contrasts  with  the  world's 
peace.  The  peace  which  He  gives,  His  own  peace, 
is  the  result  of  struggle  endured  and  victory  won. 
The  world's  peace,  on  the  other  hand,  is  generally 
the  result  of  a  compromise  or  truce  with  evil. 
The  world's  peace  is  the  absence  of  struggle,  the 
shrinking  from,  rather  than  the  meeting  and  over- 
coming of  difficulties.  "  My  peace  I  give  unto  you." 
It  will  not  save  you,  our  Lord  would  tell  us,  from 
struggle  and    persecution    and   sorrow,  but   it   is   an 

137 


*^  ^^^y^  ^ueabag  in  &ent. 

interior  peace  which  the  world  cannot  give,  and, 
thank  God,  cannot  take  away — a  peace  which  is 
the  result  of  the  presence  of  the  Prince  of  Peace 
within  your  souls. 

Our  Blessed  Lord  once  told  His  Apostles  of 
quite  another  sort  of  peace  ;  for  we  read  that  He 
said  to  them,  "  When  a  strong  man  armed  keepeth 
his  palace,  his  goods  are  in  peace."*  The  "  strong 
man "  in  this  passage  is,  of  course,  the  Devil,  his 
goods  are  the  souls  of  men,  and  captivity  to  him 
is  described  as  a  sort  of  peace,  the  peace  of  the 
slave  who  has  abandoned  all  hope  of  liberty  and  has 
accepted  a  degrading  bondage.  This  is  the  peace 
of  the  world,  the  result  of  a  compromise  with  evil, 
of  a  truce  with  the  Devil,  by  which  he  is  allowed 
to  retain  possession,  or  at  least  an  abiding-place, 
in  the  soul  of  man.  But  the  peace  of  which  our 
Lord  speaks  as  His  legacy  to  His  disciples  is  the 
very  opposite  to  this. 

"  But  (Christ  goes  on  to  say)  when  a  stronger  than 
he  shall  come  upon  him,  and  overcome  him,  he 
taketh  from  him  all  his  armour  wherein  he  trusted, 
and  divideth  his  spoils."  The  "stronger"  is  Christ, 
Who  sets  free  the  captives  of  Satan,  and,  if  they 
will,  takes  up  His  abode  in  their  souls.  This  peace, 
as  we  have  said,  will  not  secure  thcni  any  exemption 

*    .S.  Luke  xi.  21. 

138 


Cgrtef B  feegacg  to  ^jb  <S)teciyfeB.  ^ 

from  the  struggles  of  life  :  the  evil  spirit  will  come 
back  again  and  again  and  endeavour  to  regain  his 
entrance  into  the  soul,  to  recapture  those  who  have 
been  freed  from  his  power  ;  but  the  presence  of 
Christ,  the  Prince  of  Peace,  Who  conquered  the 
Evil  One  upon  Calvary,  is  the  assurance  that, 
though  the  struggle  be  fierce  and  temptations 
many,  the  soul  is  absolutely  safe  so  long  as  He 
is  enthroned  in  it  as  King. 

After  our  Lord's  resurrection  He  came  to  His 
disciples  with  the  greeting,  "  Peace  be  unto  you." 
Thrice  the  greeting  is  given,*  but  never  before  the 
resurrection,  although  it  is  anticipated  in  the 
passage  we  are  now  considering.  It  was  by  the 
struggle  of  His  Passion,  by  the  conflict  on  the 
battle-field  of  Calvary,  that  Christ  won  the  peace 
which  He  promised  as  His  legacy,  which  He 
bestowed  as  His  Easter  gift.  And  surely  the 
lesson  we  may  learn  is  that  we  cannot  have  real 
peace  without  struggle,  that  it  must  be  the  result 
of  victory. 

The  very  laws  of  political  science  teach  us  this  ; 
for  nations  now  at  peace  have  won  their  peace 
upon  the  battle-field,  and  in  order  to  retain  it  keep 
themselves  always  prepared  for  war ;  not  that  they 
desire  war,  but   that   preparation   for  it   is  the  only 

*   S.  John  XX.  19,  21,  rind  26.      Cf.  S.  Luke  xxiv.  36. 


way  of  avoiding  it.  If  tlien  we  are  to  appropriate 
to  ourselves  the  peace  which  Christ  offers  us,  we 
must  fight  the  necessary  battle,  drive  the  foe  out 
of  our  soul,  the  foe  who  has  gained  an  entrance 
into  our  heart,  and  then,  after  we  have  invited  the 
Prince  of  Peace  to  make  His  abode  with  us,  after 
we  have  enthroned  Him  as  our  King,  we  must 
be  always  ready  to  fight  for  Him,  always  watching 
against  the  attacks  by  which  the  Evil  One  tries  to 
drive  Jesus  from  the  soul  and  once  more  to  make 
himself  its  master. 

Now  our  Blessed  Lord  turns  back  and  takes 
up  the  first  words  of  the  chapter,  "  Let  not  your 
heart  be  troubled,  neither  let  it  be  afraid."  There 
is  a  wonderful  sequence  of  thought  in  these  last 
discourses  which  people  often  fail  to  discern.  The 
chapter  begins  with  the  words,  "  Let  not  your  heart 
be  troubled  :  ye  believe  in  God,  believe  also  in 
Me."  And  now  having  given  to  His  disciples 
various  reasons  why  they  are  not  to  be  troubled, 
various  causes  of  consolation,  He  reiterates  the 
words,  "  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled."  Why 
not?     What  has   He  said  to  console? 

In  this  chapter  of  thirty-one  verses  wc  find  no 
less  than  eight  distinct  causes  of  consolation  which 
Christ  sets  before  His  disciples.  He  told  them  first 
of  the  many  mansions  in  His  Father's  house  which 

140 


Cgmt'g  feegacg  to  ^ig  'E)i0ciyfe6.  g» 

He  was  going  to  prepare  for  them  ;  that  there  was 
room  enough  for  them  all  in  Heaven.  He  told 
them  next  that  He  was  Himself  the  Way  to  the 
Father,  the  Way  by  which  they  were  to  attain  to 
the  mansions  of  His  house.  Then  He  told  them 
thirdly  that  in  Him  they  could  see  the  Father. 
Fourthly,  He  revealed  to  them  that  they  were  to 
carry  on  His  work,  and  were  even  to  do  a  greater 
work  than  He  had  done  in  the  world.  Fifthly, 
He  promised  them  that  He  would  send  them 
another  Comforter,  the  Holy  Ghost.  Sixthly,  that 
the  Holy  Ghost,  when  He  was  come,  should  reveal 
to  them  Christ,  as  Christ  Himself  had  revealed 
to  them  the  Father.  As  a  seventh  cause  of  con- 
solation He  assured  them  that  the  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Spirit  would  come  and  take  up  their 
abode  in  the  obedient  and  loving  heart.  And 
lastly.  He  assures  them  that  the  result  of  this 
presence  within  them,  of  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Spirit,  would  be  a  peace  which  the  world  could 
not  give. 

As  we  have  read  these  chapters  we  have  probably 
dwelt  upon  certain  verses  which  were  full  of  con- 
solation, but  perhaps  have  failed  to  discern  how 
the  whole  chapter  is  filled  with  consolation  for  those 
who  were  grieved  at  the  thought  of  their  Master's 
departure  ;    and    not    for    them    only,   but    for    all 

141 


-^  ^^jtbT^uegbag  in  feenf. 

Christ'sJdisciples.  Many  deep  mysteries  are  treated 
of  thriwghout  the  discourse,  but  through  them  all 
runs  the  golden  thread  of  consolation. 

It  is  not  only  that  our  Lord  consoles  the  Apostles 
with  loving  words,  which  touch  their  hearts  and 
heal  the  wounds  which  sorrow  has  inflicted,  but 
that  He  shows  them  how  much  there  is  connected 
with  His  departure  which  is  to  be  a  blessing  to 
them,  and  more  than  a  blessing — a  joy.  He  tells 
them  that  if  they  love  Him  they  will  rejoice  at 
His  departure,  because  it  means  the  consummation 
of  His  work  and  His  glorification  as  the  Son  of 
Man.  But  not  only  this,  He  reveals  to  them  that 
their  own  joy  will  be  great  because  by  His 
glorification  they  will  receive  new  gifts  and  powers, 
especially  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  through 
Whom  He  Himself  will  be  restored  to  them  in  a 
closer  and  more  intimate  fellowship  than  that  which 
they  had  enjoyed  when   He  was  upon  earth. 


142 


XIX. 


UNSELFISH    SORROW. 


S.  John  xiv.  28-31. 

"Ye  have  heard  how  I  said  unto  you,  I  go  away,  and  come  again 
unto  you.  If  ye  loved  Me,  ye  would  rejoice,  because  I  said,  I  go  unto 
the  Father  :  for  My  Father  is  greater  than  I.  And  now  I  have  told 
you  before  it  come  to  pass,  that  when  it  is  come  to  pass,  ye  might 
believe.  Hereafter  I  will  not  talk  much  with  you  :  for  the  Prince 
of  this  world  cometh,  and  hath  nothing  in  Me.  But  that  the  world 
may  know  that  I  love  the  Father  ;  and  as  the  Father  gave  Me 
commandment,  even  so  do   I.      Arise,  let  us  go  hence." 

F  ye  loved  Me,  ye  would  rejoice,  because 
I  said  I  go  unto  the  Father."  Unselfish 
sorrow  has  in  it  an  element  of  joy  in 
the  thought  of  the  gain  of  another  through  our 
bereavement.  Our  Lord  reminds  His  disciples 
that  if  they  love  Him,  while  they  may  sorrow  at 
the  thought  of  being  parted  from  Him,  they  will 
rejoice  in   the  realisation  of  His  exaltation,  in   the 

143 


'^  Sourt^  TJ^ebnecbag  in  Silent 

fact  that  His  sufferings  have  come  to  an  end,  that 
His  work  is  done,  and  that  He  is  about  to 
enter  into  His  reward  in  the  glory  of  the  Father. 

Surely  this  ought  often  to  be  a  consolation  to 
us  when  we  are  mourning  for  one  who  has  been 
taken  from  us.  Our  sorrow  may  be  deep,  but  it 
is  sorrow  for  our  own  loss  ;  and  if  we  are  unselfish 
in  our  sorrow,  we  shall  rejoice  in  the  gain  of  the 
friend  we  loved  who  has  gone  to  the  Father — that 
is,  if  he  is  one  of  the  dead  who  died  for  Christ ;  for 
his  work  shall  follow  him,  and  we  must  rejoice 
that  he  rests  from  his  labours.  Of  course,  our 
predominant  feeling  will  be  sorrow,  not  joy ;  but 
it  will  be  sorrow  which  is  lightened  by  moments 
of  joy  as  we  think  of  the  happiness  of  being  with 
Christ  in  the  kingdom  of  His  love.  And  this  idea 
is  very  strikingly  expressed  in  the  tense  of  the 
words  translated,  "ye  would  rejoice"  (c;tap7;re).  In 
the  Greek  it  is  an  aorist,  and  so  implies  a 
momentary  feeling  of  joy,  not  a  continual  state. 
Their  state  of  mind  must,  of  course,  be  one  of 
sorrow  at  His  departure,  and  yet  sorrow  brightened 
with  flashes  of  realisation  of  the  happiness  into 
which  their  Master  was  about  to  enter. 

"For  My  Father  is  greater  than  I."  These 
words  bring  before  us  a  very  deep  theological 
question,  which  we  shall   pass  over,  merely  pointing 

144 


out  that  the  Father  is  not  essentially  greater  than 
the  Son,  for  the  Son  is  of  the  same  substance  or 
essence  as  the  Father,  as  we  are  taught  in  the 
Nicene  Creed.  The  Father  is  not  greater  in 
essence  but  in  relation^  since  in  the  relationship  of 
Father  and  Son,  the  relationship  of  paternity  is 
superior  to  that  of  sonship,  since  the  son  derives 
his  being  from  the  father  not  the  father  from  the 
son.  In  the  Godhead  the  Father  is  the  Source 
possessing  an  underived  essence,  while  in  the  Son 
the  divine  essence  is  communicated  from  the 
Father  by  eternal  generation.  This  is  the 
explanation  of  this  mysterious  passage  given  by 
the  Greek  fathers. 

Western  theologians,  however,  while  recognising 
this  as  true,  rather  dwell  upon  the  fact  that  at 
the  time  our  Lord  spoke.  He  was,  as  S.  Paul 
says,  "In  the  form  of  slave,"  and  that  He  was, 
therefore,  referring  to  the  inferiority  of  His 
position  as  Man.  This  is  best  expressed  in  the 
Athanasian  Creed:  "Equal  to  the  Father,  as 
touching  His  Godhead:  and  inferior  to  the  Father, 
as  touching  His  Manhood."  The  two  views  are, 
however,  mutually  complementary,  and  together 
tell  us  all  that  we  can  know  of  this  mysterious 
subject. 

"  And   now   I   have  told   you   before   it   come   to 

145  L 


'^  §omi^  T37ebne6i)ag  in  feenf. 

pass,  that  when  it  is  come  to  pass,  ye  might 
believe."  "  Now,"  that  is  at  this  crisis  when  your 
faith  is  about  to  be  put  to  the  test  by  My 
crucifixion.  I  tell  you  this  in  order  that  in  that 
hour  of  trial  ye  may  believe — that  is,  that  your 
faith  may  not  fail.  I  am  telling  you  beforehand 
that  I  am  going  to  the  Father  that  your  faith 
may  be  strengthened  by  the  remembrance  that  I 
forewarned  you  of  the  trial  through  which  you 
must  pass. 

"  The  prince  of  this  world  cometh,  and  hath 
nothing  in  Me."  Our  Blessed  Lord  here,  as  in 
other  places,  clearly  recognises  the  personality  of 
the  devil.  He  is  the  prince  of  this  world,  the  ruler 
of  those  who  are  the  children  of  the  world.  Our 
Lord  points  him  out  as  the  chief  of  all  the 
subordinate  evil  spirits,  and  knows  that  the  hour 
is  approaching  when,  for  the  last  time,  he  is 
to  come  to  tempt,  and  so  to  test  Him,  as 
he  tempts  every  man.  It  was  not  the  first 
time  that  the  devil  had  come  to  Him,  for  he 
came  to  Him  in  the  wilderness  at  the  beginning 
of  His  ministry,  when  after  He  had  fasted  forty 
days  and  forty  nights  he  came  to  tempt  Him. 
The  devil  came  to  Him  many  times  throughout 
His  life,  and  now  comes  for  the  last  supreme 
effort  in  the  trial  of  His  Passion,  and  Death. 

146 


(UncefftB^  borrow,  ^ 

He  "hath  nothing  in  Me."  In  these  words  our 
Lord  bears  witness  to  His  own  sinlessness.  Satan 
might  search  Him  through  and  through,  might  ply 
Him  with  every  form  of  temptation  ;  but  he  would 
find  in  Him  nothing  which  he  could  claim  as  even 
a  momentary  yielding  to  evil — nothing  of  failure, 
nothing  even  of  imperfection.  Christ  goes  forth  to 
the  final  duel  with  the  prince  of  this  world  with 
calm  confidence  in  regard  to  its  result,  with  entire 
certainty  of  ultimate  victory.  He  knows  that  the 
victory  will  involve  great  suffering,  unspeakable 
humiliation,  even  an  ignominious  death,  but  its 
results  will  be  the  final  conquest  of  the  evil  one, 
the  setting  free  of  his  captives,  the  redemption  of 
man. 

"  But  that  the  world  may  know  that  I  love  the 
Father;  and  as  the  Father  gave  Me  commandment, 
even  so  I  do."  This  was  the  secret  of  our  Lord's 
whole  life,  the  perfect  fulfilment  of  His  Father's 
will,  the  entire  accomplishment  of  His  Father's 
work,  the  carrying  out  of  God's  plans  for  man's 
redemption.  Christ's  was  the  one  absolutely  perfect 
human  life  lived  in  this  world.  In  it  He  showed 
His  love  for  His  Father  by  keeping  His  Father's 
commandments,  doing  His  Father's  will  at  the 
very  cost  of  life  itself. 

He   points  to  this  as  the  evidence  by  which  the 

147 


^  ^ouxt^  ^ebneebag  in  &enf. 

world  may  know  His  love  of  the  Father.  His  was  a 
life  spent  largely  in  waiting  for  His  Father's  call. 
Thirty  years  spent  in  obscurity  at  Nazareth, 
waiting  until  the  hour  should  come  when  His 
Father  should  call  Him  forth  to  the  work  of 
His  ministry,  and  throughout  that  ministry  all  things 
were  done,  without  hurry,  but  without  delay,  in 
accordance  with  His  Father's  Will.  In  neither  the 
triumphs  nor  sorrows  of  His  life  does  He  anticipate 
by  one  minute,  the  hour  of  His  Father's  purpose 
for  Him.  When  His  Blessed  Mother  at  the 
marriage  of  Cana  of  Galilee  told  Him  of  the 
needs  of  the  guests,  saying,  "  They  have  no  wine," 
His  answer  is,  "  Mine  hour  is  not  yet  come,"  that 
is,  the  moment  for  working  the  miracle  had  not 
yet  arrived,  though  apparently,  almost  immediately 
after,  the  time  was  fulfilled,  and  the  miracle 
performed. 

If  we  are  to  manifest  our  love  for  God,  it  must 
be  by  following  the  example  of  Christ  in  this,  by 
realising  that  the  true  purpose  of  our  life  is  to  do 
God's  Will  and  to  accomplish  God's  work;  for  God 
has  a  work  for  each  of  us  to  do — a  work  which  He 
reveals  to  us,  not  all  at  once,  but  gradually  as  life 
goes  on.  Sometimes  we  have  to  wait  a  long  while 
for  this  revelation,  and  there  is  the  danger  that  we 
may  become   impatient,   and   because    we    are    tired 

148 


(Un6efft6^  Norton).  ^ 


of  waiting  for  God's  call,  may  throw  ourselves 
into  some  work  which  is  not  the  work  which  God 
meant  us  to  do.  We  must  learn  from  our  Lord 
to  tarry  God's  leisure,  to  put  our  trust  in  God 
to  believe  that  at  the  right  moment  He  will 
manifest   to  us  His  will. 

As  we  have  seen  in  the  case  of  S.  Peter,  the  time 
of  waiting  must  not  be  a  time  of  idleness,  but  a 
time  of  preparation,  during  which  we  are  learning 
those  things  which  we  shall  need  to  put  in  practice 
when  God  calls  us  to  our  work.  What  quietness 
and  dignity  this  thought  gives  to  every  life.  Life 
has  a  purpose — the  purpose  for  which  we  were 
created  —  and  our  eternity  depends  upon  the 
fulfilment  of  this  purpose. 

Life  is  not  given  us  that  we  may  drift  aimlessly 
along,  sometimes  doing  one  thing,  sometimes 
another,  so  that,  when  our  years  draw  to  a  close, 
we  wonder  whether  our  life  has  been  of  any  use 
to  us,  or  to  anyone  else.  Life  is  given  us  to  love 
and  to  labour.  Love  without  labour  is  enervating, 
and  labour  without  love  makes  us  hard,  and  bitter, 
and  hopeless  ;  for  that  which  ennobles  labour  and 
makes  it  a  joy  is  that  it  should  be  done  for  one 
we  love.  Thus  a  husband  works  for  his  wife  and 
children,  so,  only  in  a  higher  sense,  the  Christian 
works  for  God. 

149 


^-  Soutt^  Ti7ebne6bag  in  SLCni. 

Christ  said,  *'  That  the  world  may  know  that 
I  love  the  Father ;  and  as  the  Father  gave 
Me  commandment,  even  so  I  do."  We  must 
say,  "  That  the  world  may  know  that  I  love  God — 
and  it  is  part  of  my  duty  to  show  that  I  love 
God  —  I  must  keep  His  commandments,  and 
accomplish  the  work  which  He  has  given  me  to 
do." 

"  Arise,  let  us  go  hence."  Thus  our  Lord 
finishes  the  discourses  in  the  Upper  Chamber. 


150 


XX. 


CHRIST  THE   VINE. 


S.  John  xv.  i. 

"  I  am  the  true  Vine,  and  My  Father  is  the  Husbandman." 

HE  allegory  of  the  Vine  and  the  branches 
beeiiis  the  second  division  of  our  Lord's 
discourses.  In  the  first,  which  were  spoken 
in  the  Upper  Chamber,  Christ  comforts  His  apostles 
in  regard  to  His  departure,  which  He  plainly  reveals 
to  them,  and  answers  certain  questions  put  to  Him 
by  S.  Peter,  S.  Thomas,  S.  Philip,  and  S.  Jude.  These 
discourses  close  with  the  last  words  of  the  fourteenth 
chapter,  "Arise,  let  us  go  hence."  In  the  fifteenth 
and  sixteenth  chapters  He  continues  His  discourses 
vouchsafing  to  them  a  revelation  even  more  sublime 

151 


•^  Soutt^  ^^^urcbag  in  SLCnt. 

leading  them  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  mysteries  a^ 
His  union  with  them. 

But  where  were  these  last  discourses  uttered  ? 
There  are  several  views.  First,  the  opinion  that 
they  were  spoken  in  the  same  place,  in  the  Upper 
Chamber;  that  when  our  Lord  said,  "Arise,  let  JS  go 
hence,"  the  disciples  arose  from  the  couches  on 
which  they  were  reclining,  but  stood  around  Him 
in  the  room,  bidding  Him  farewell  and  hearing  His 
last  words;  so  that  it  was  still  in  the  Upper  Chamber 
that  He  delivered  tlie  discourses  recorded  in  these 
chapters. 

There  are  two  objections  to  this  view  ;  one  that  it 
is  quite  inconsistent  with  the  words,  "  Arise,  let  us  go 
hence  ; "  the  other  that  it  is  inconceivable  to  suppose 
that  the  great  High-Priestly  prayer  in  the  seven- 
teenth chapter  could  have  been  uttered  while  they 
were  standing  about  the  room. 

A  second  view,  which  is  original  and  modern,  is 
suggested  by  Coleridge  in  his  "  Treatise  on  the  Life 
of  our  Lord."  He  thinks  that  they  adjourned  to 
another  chamber,  which  had  been  prepared  for  the 
celebration  of  the  first  Eucharist ;  that  the  institution 
of  the  Holy  Eucharist  took  place  at  this  point, 
and  that  the  discourses  and  High- Priestly  prayer 
followed  after  the  First  Communion  of  the  apostles. 
Coleridge's    theory    is,   however,   so   unnatural    and 

152 


efriet  t^e  (gine.  ^ 

forced  that  it  is  scarcely  worth  considering.  It 
has  been  adopted  by  some  few  Roman  theologians, 
but  it  is  so  evidently  a  theory  constructed  for  an 
ulterior  purpose,  and  not  to  meet  the  circumstances 
of  the  case  that,  like  the  first  view,  we  may  dismiss 
it. 

There  remains,  therefore,  a  third  opinion  that  our 
Lord  uttered  these  discourses  on  the  way  to  Geth- 
semane,  probably  in  some  place  where  a  halt  could  be 
made.  This  halt  seems  necessary,  because  we  cannot 
conceive  of  His  speaking  any  of  these  sublime 
and  solemn  words  as  He  was  walking  through 
the  streets  of  the  city,  but  there  is  no  place  on  the 
western  side  of  the  city,  in  the  descent  to  the  Brook 
Cedron,  so  far  as  we  can  see,  where  He  could  have 
made  this  halt.  The  place  is  too  public,  and  the 
eighteenth  chapter  of  S.  John,  in  telling  us  that  they 
went  over  the  Brook  Cedron,  seems  to  require  that 
the  discourses  should  have  been  delivered  before 
they  crossed  the  Cedron,  and,  therefore,  before  they 
entered  Gethsemane. 

It  has  been  suggested*  that  after  they  left  the 
Upper  Chamber  they  made  a  final  visit  to  the 
Temple,  for  Josephusf  in  his  "Antiquities"  tells  us 
that  during  the   festivals  it  was  the  custom  of   the 

*  By  Bishop  Westcott  in  his  ''  Commentary  on  S.  John." 
t  Joseph.,  "Ant.,"  xviii.  2,  2. 


priests  to  open  the  gates  of  the  Temple  at  midnight, 
so  that  pilgrims  could  go  in  to  make  their  devotions. 
Nothing  could  be  more  fitting  than  that  our  Blessed 
Lord  should  make  a  final  visit  to  that  place  He  loved 
so  well,  His  Father's  House,  and  that  there  in  the 
Temple  courts  He  should  utter  the  prayer  of 
consecration,  in  which  He  revealed  the  purpose  of 
His  work  and  the  destiny  of  His  Church. 

But  there  is  another  argument  for  this  visit  to  the 
Temple,  for  Josephus  informs  us*  that  on  the  gates 
of  the  Temple  was  wrought  a  magnificent  golden 
vine,  which  was  intended  to  typify  the  relation  of 
God's  chosen  people  to  Himself  This  vine  was  a 
type  of  Israel,  as  we  learn  from  the  prophet  Isaiah,t 
and  it  seems  quite  probable  that  it  supplied  the 
imagery  of  our  Lord's  allegory  of  the  vine,  with 
which  the  discourse  opens.  Pointing  the  disciples  to 
the  familiar  object  upon  the  Temple  gates,  our  Lord 
may  have  said,  "  I  am  the  true  Vine,  and  My  Father 
is  the  Husbandman." 

While  we  cannot  claim  for  Bishop  Westcott's  view 
anything  more  than  that  it  fulfils  all  the  conditions  of 
the  problem,  as  no  other  theory  does,  yet  we  must  be 
struck  by  the  extraordinary  fitness  of  the  Temple  to 
be  the  place    in    which  our   Lord   uttered  not  only 

*  Joseph.,  "Ant.,"  xv.  ii,  3,  and  Bell,  " Ju'l.,"  v.  5,  4. 
t   C/.  Isaiah  v.  1-8. 


€^mt  t^e  QOinc. 


:n^ 


His  last  discourse  to  His  disciples,  but  also  His 
great  Hi^h-Priestly  prayer.  From  the  time  when 
Araunah's  threshing-floor  was  set  apart  by  David 
as  the  site  of  God's  Temple,  priesthood  and  sacri- 
fice had  been  confined  in  their  association  to  that 
spot.  Nowhere  else  could  sacrifice  be  offered, 
nowhere  else  did  the  priests  fulfil  their  sacerdotal 
functions. 

There  is,  therefore,  not  only  an  appropriateness, 
but  a  wonderful  suggestiveness  in  the  thought  that 
in  the  courts  of  God's  house,  which  for  so  many 
centuries  had  been  dedicated  to  His  worship,  and 
yet  had  been  so  often  desecrated  by  imperfect 
service,  the  great  High  Priest  of  the  New  Covenant 
should  perfectly  fulfil  the  idea  of  priesthood,  as 
the  one  Mediator  between  God  and  man  ;  and  not 
only  of  priesthood,  but  of  sacrifice,  as  the  one 
Sacrifice  by  which  the  world  was  redeemed,  and 
that  He  should  there  consecrate  Himself  as  the 
Victim  and  Priest  for  all  humanity. 

Let  us  try  to  picture  the  scene.  It  is  past  mid- 
night. The  city  is  wrapt  in  slumber.  The  silver 
light  of  the  Pascal  moon  penetrates  the  courts  of 
the  Temple,  where  a  few  pilgrims  have  found  their 
way  that  they  may  join  their  presence,  if  not  their 
voices,  to  those  servants  of  the  Lord  of  whom  the 
Psalmist  speaks,  who  "by  night  stand  in  tlie  house 

155 


^  Sourf^  €l^nxBi<X2  in  &cnt 

of  the  Lord,  even  in  the  courts  of  the  house  of 
our  God.'"'' 

In  some  retired  spot  our  Blessed  Lord,  alone  with 
His  disciples,  utters  His  last  discourses  and  bids 
farewell  for  ever  to  that  House  of  His  Father,  in 
which,  from  His  boyhood's  days.  He  had  so  often 
worshipped.  Alas,  He  knows  that  its  glory  was 
about  to  depart,  that  when  the  veil  of  that  temple 
was  rent,  at  the  moment  of  His  death,  a  more 
acceptable  sacrifice  would  have  been  offered  than 
those  sacrifices  which  in  so  many  thousands  had 
been  offered  upon  the  altars  of  the  Temple — "  a 
full,  perfect,  and  sufficient  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of 
the  whole  world."  And  He  knows  too  that  this 
sacrifice  should  live  on,  in  an  unbloody  form,  upon 
the  altars  of  the  Christian  Church  in  the  sacrifice 
of  the  Holy  Eucharist — that  Eucharist,  which,  like 
the  vine  upon  the  Temple  gates,  was  to  symbolise 
the  union  between  God  and  His  chosen  people, 
but,  unlike  the  golden  vine,  was  not  only  to 
symbolise^  but  to  be  the  means  by  which  that 
union  was  to  be  consummated. 

"  I  am  the  true  Vine,  and  My  Father  is  the 
Husbandman."  The  construction  \w  the  Greek  is 
very  suggestive,  it  is,  "  I  am  the  Vine,  the  true 
Vine."     The   words,t    "  I    am    the  Vine,"   mark   the 

*    Psalm  cxxxv.  2.  f    ^   afxjreXos   rj   dXtjOiurj. 

156 


identification  of  Ctirist  with  the  image  ;  the  addition 
*'  the  true  Vine,"  implies  the  absolute  fulfilment 
of  the  image  in  Him ;  for  Christ  in  His  Person 
brings  to  complete  fulfilment  the  vital  relation  of 
all  parts  to  the  whole — the  conception  of  unity  and 
multiplicity,  of  growth  and  yet  identity,  which  are 
set  forth  in  the  image  of  the  vine. 

As  we  have  said,  the  vine  was  the  image  of  Israel, 
the  image  of  that  theocratic  and  sacramental  com- 
munity which  had  its  centre  in  the  Altar  and  Ark 
of  testimony  and  the  Holy  Place,  This  was  what 
the  vine  on  the  gates  of  the  Temple  symbolised, 
but,  alas,  the  Jewish  Church  had  never  justified 
this  image,  had  never  fulfilled  God's  purposes  for 
it.  It  had  not  been  true  to  God's  call,  and  so  Christ 
puts  Himself  in  the  place  of  the  Jewish  Church 
w^hen  He  says,  "  I  am  the  true  Vine."  Israel  failed 
to  satisfy  the  images  symbolised  in  the  natural  vine, 
He  fulfils  them  perfectly  in  His  Church. 

The  Old  Covenant  awakened  a  glorious  hope  in 
God's  people,  but  the  hope  w^as  never  realised  because 
of  their  disobedience.  The  New  Covenant  which 
was  to  be  sealed  with  Christ's  Blood,  began,  not  with 
hope  only,  but  with  realisation.  Christ  says,  "  I  am 
the  true  Vine,  and  My  Father  is  the  Husbandman," 
and  in  these  words  He  shows  how  He  fulfils  perfectly 
all  that  was  symbolised  under  the  Old  Covenant  of 
God  with   Israel.  157 


To  those  who  have  studied  '  the  prophecies  of 
Isaiah,  this  thought  will  be  familiar,  for  the  "  Servant 
of  Jehovah,"  who  occupies  so  prominent  a  position  in 
his  writings,  is  in  his  earlier  prophecies  the  Jewish 
nation,  but  becomes  in  the  later  the  Messiah  Him- 
self. The  Jewish  nation  was  chosen  to  be  God's 
servant  in  this  world,  it  had  a  mission  to  mankind, 
but  after  ages  of  testing  it  failed  altogether  to 
fulfil  this  service  for  which  God  had  raised  it  up, 
and  God's  purpose  for  Judaism  passed  into  the  work 
of  Messiah,  when  Christ  came  to  be  the  Saviour  of 
the  world. 

So  our  Lord  says,  "  I  am  the  true  Vine,  and  My 
Father  is  the  Husbandman."  I  am  the  Vine,  but 
"  no  man  can  come  to  Me,  except  the  Father  Which 
hath  sent  Me  draw  him."*  The  care  of  God  the 
Father  for  His  Church  is  here  touchingly  brought 
before  us  under  the  figure  of  the  husbandman.  The 
Church  is  not  merely  the  concern  of  Christ,  or  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  but  God  the  Father  is  the  Husbandman. 
It  is  by  His  Will  that  the  disciplines  and  adversities 
are  sent  by  which  the  Church  is  purged  and  purified. 
Christ's  Body,  the  Church,  is  the  object  of  the 
Father's  special  love  and  special  care,  though  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  the  Agent  by  Whose  operations  the 
Father's  purposes  for  the  Church  are  effected. 

*   S.  John  vi.  44. 

158 


€gmt  i^e  (^tne.  ^ 

The  word  which  is  translated  husbandman  (yeapyos) 
implies  more  than  its  English  equivalent  sug^^ests. 
It  is  not  as  in  the  parable  of  the  fig  tree  in  S.  Luke* 
(dfiTreXovpyos)  the  dresser  of  the  vineyard,  but  the 
owner  of  the  land  as  well.  As  members  of  Christ's 
Body  we  are  citizens  of  the  Kingdom  of  God,  but 
not  only  citizens  of  the  Kingdom,  but  by  adoption 
children  of  the  King ;  so  that  we  can  address 
Him  as  "  Our  Father,  Which  art  in  Heaven."  The 
Kingdom  is  His.  It  is  the  Church  of  the  livino- 
God,  Who  is  Owner  as  well  as  Husbandman. 

*  S.  Luke  xiii.  7. 


159 


XXI. 

Sourt^  ^xii(XT^  in  £enf. 


THE  VINE  AND  THE  BRANCHES. 


S.  John  xv.  2,  3. 

"Every  branch  in  Me  that  beareth  not  fruit  He  taketh  away  :  and 
every  branch  that  beareth  fruit,  He  purgeth  it,  that  it  may  bring  forth 
more  fruit.  Now  ye  are  clean  through  the  word  which  I  have  spoken 
unto  you." 

VERY  branch  in  Me."  In  these  words  the 
Christian  is  identified  with  Christ ;  for  the 
union  between  the  soul  and  Christ  is  shown 
to  be  as  close  as  the  union  between  the  branch  and 
the  vine  which  bears  it.  But  at  this  point  our  atten- 
tion is  drawn  to  a  possibility  in  spiritual  experience 
which  is  often  overlooked  in  the  treatment  of  this 
allegory.  All  would  say  that  there  are  two  kinds 
of  branches — fruitful  branches  and  those  that  are 
withered. 

This,  however,  is  not  the  division  which  our  Blessed 

160 


Lord  makes  when  He  says, "  Every  branch  in  Me  that 
beareth  not  fruit  He  taketh  away."  He  shows  that 
it  is  possible  to  come  into  organic  relation  with  the 
vine,  with  Christ,  to  be  "  in  it,"  in  Christ,  a  part  of 
Christ,  and  yet  to  bring  forth  no  fruit.  It  is  possible 
to  be  baptised  and  to  be  a  communicant,  and  perhaps 
not  even  to  be  separated  from  Christ  by  any  mortal 
sin,  and  yet  (because  there  is  no  effort  of  our  own,  no 
correspondence  with  grace)  to  live  a  life  which  is  quite 
unfruitful,  a  life  which  is  represented  by  those 
branches  which  are  not  withered,  but  which  bear 
no  fruit. 

The  unfruitful  shoots  seem  often  to  be  as  strong-  and 
vigorous  as  those  which  bear  fruit.  They  draw  their 
nourishment  from  the  same  stock,  they  produce 
abundance  of  leaves  ;  but  as  our  Blessed  Lord  shows 
in  the  parable  of  the  Fig  tree,  if  they  produce  nothing 
but  leaves  they  are  worthless,  and  therefore  are  not 
allowed  to  cumber  the  vine.  Christ  says  of  them, 
"  Every  branch  in  Me  that  beareth  not  fruit,  He  (My 
Father,  the  Husbandman)  taketh  away." 

S.  Paul  in  his  second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians 
exhorts  his  readers  to  be  careful  that  they  receive  not 
the  grace  of  God  in  vain.^  Our  Lord  is  referring  to 
this  class  of  Christians,  who  do  receive  the  grace  of 
God,  who  frequent  all   the  sacraments  and  means  of 

*   Cf.  2  Cor.  vi.  I. 

i6i  M 


•^^  ^onti^  -§Txb(X^  in  £enf. 

grace,  but  because  they  do  not  use  the  grace  which 
they  have  received,  receive  it  in  vain.  These  repre- 
sent the  branches  which  the  Father  taketh  away, 
and  they  are  not  to  be  confounded  with  the  withered 
branches  which  are  separated  from  the  Hfe  of  the  vine 
and  draw  no  nourishment  from  it  because  they  are 
already  dead,  whose  fate  is  considered  in  the  sixth 
verse. 

But  there  is  another  class  of  branches — those  that 
are  not  only  in  Christ,  but  who  by  virtue  of  their 
union  with  Him,  bring  forth  fruit.  What  does  the 
Father  do  with  these  ?  "  Every  branch  that  beareth 
fruit  He  purgeth  it,  that  it  may  bring  forth  more 
fruit."  How  important  it  is  that  we  should  keep  this 
teaching  before  us.  It  is  not  enough  to  be  in  Christ, 
to  be  a  member  of  His  Church  through  Baptism  ;  it  is 
not  enough  to  be  free  from  mortal  sin,  to  have  no 
hindrance  to  our  union  with  Him,  to  the  work  of 
Christ  in  our  souls.  There  must  be  a  correspondence 
with  this  grace,  a  fruitfulncss  in  our  life. — And  then 
ihe  Father  will  send  such  disciplines  into  our  life  as 
may  help  us  to  bring  forth  more  fruit. 

Of  the  fruitful  branches  we  are  told  that  the  Father 
purgeth  them.  The  word  rendered  "  purgeth " 
(Ka^atpfi)  primarily  signifies  a  cleansing  by  lustrations, 
a  removal  by  washing  of  anything  that  could  hinder 
the  vine  from  bringing  forth  fruit.     It  also  evidently 

162 


signifies  here  pruning  with  a  knife — not  only  the 
spraying  of  the  vine  to  cleanse  it  from  insects 
which  might  injure  it,  but  pruning  it ;  so  that  all  the 
vital  forces  of  the  vine  may  go  into  production  of  fruit, 
and  not  merely  into  the  production  of  useless  branches 
and  leaves. 

Our  Lord  says  to  His  disciples, "  Now  are  ye  clean 
through  the  Word  which  I  have  spoken  unto  you." 
Here  He  applies  the  idea  of  cleansing  contained  in 
the  word  "  ptirgeth."  The  word  "  now "  means 
"  already."  The  spiritual  cleansing  of  the  Apostles 
had  been  potentially  completed,  though  it  was  not 
realised  until  the  day  of  Pentecost.  The  Word  by 
which  they  had  been  cleansed  is  of  course  the  Gospel, 
the  whole  revelation  of  Christ  which  they  had  poten- 
tially received,  and  which  the  Holy  Ghost  was  to 
bring  home  to  their  understandings. 

But  what  is  the  fruit  which  the  vine  is  to  produce  ? 
It  is  evidently  the  fruit  of  a  Christ-like  life,  for  the 
branches  of  a  vine  do  not  bring  forth  fruit  of  their 
own,  but  the  fruit  of  the  vine.  The  good  works 
which  are  done  through  the  grace  of  Christ  are 
really  not  so  much  our  own  good  works  as  the  work 
of  Christ  in  us.  Sometimes  these  fruits  are  spoken 
of  as  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  because,  as  our  Lord  teaches 
us  in  these  discourses,  it  is  the  Holy  Spirit  which 
enables  us  to  produce  them. 

163 


•o^  ^ontf^  ^xxb(XT^  in  £enf. 

S.  Paul  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  gives  us  a 
list  of  this  fruit,  which,  while  it  does  not  include  all  the 
fruits  of  the  Spirit,  is  well  worthy  of  our  study.  He 
says,  "  The  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love,  joy,  peace,  lon$^- 
suffering.  gentleness,  goodness,  faith,  meekness,  tem- 
perance."* It  will  be  very  useful  for  us  to  take  this 
list  and  look  into  our  lives  and  see  how  far  we  are 
producing  these  fruits  ;  in  other  words,  to  examine 
ourselves  in  regard  to  them.  For  if  we  are  in  Christ 
as  fruit-bearing  branches,  the  proof  will  be  manifested 
in  the  fruit  we  are  bringing  forth. 

If  we  examine  S.  Paul's  list  we  shall  find  that  these 
nine  fruits  fall  into  three  divisions,  corresponding  to 
our  three-fold  duties  towards  God,  our  neighbour,  and 
ourselves.  He  begins  with  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit 
towards  God — love,  joy,  and  peace.  These  are  not 
the  only  fruits  which  we  can  bring  forth  in  the  fulfil- 
ment of  our  duty  to  God,  but  they  are  three  very 
representative  fruits. 

Love  is  the  first,  the  greatest  of  all  Christian  virtues, 
that  without  which  no  other  virtue  is  of  any  value,  that 
which,  if  we  possess  it  in  its  fulness,  will  enable  us 
sooner  or  later  to  produce  all  the  other  virtues.  Then 
joy  :  there  are  many  Christians  who  forget  that  joy  is 
one  of  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  and  seem  to  think  the 
Christian  life  must  be  all  sadness  and  gloom  ;  but  if  we 

*   Gal,  V.  22-23. 
164 


are  filled  with  the  love  of  God  we  shall  certainly 
rejoice,  and  our  lives  will  be  happy  even  though 
sometimes  sorrowful.  Then  there  is  the  virtue  of 
peace.  A  life  inspired  with  the  love  of  God  must  be 
a  life  not  only  of  joy  but  of  peace,  that  peace  which 
does  not  save  us  from  the  struggles  of  life,  but  which 
preserves  in  our  souls  an  interior  peace  as  the  result 
of  Christ's  presence  there.  Have  we  this  love  and 
joy  and  peace  in  our  life  towards  God  ? 

In  regard  to  our  neighbour,  S.  Paul  mentions 
three  fruits — long-suffering,  gentleness,  and  goodness. 
These  too  are  not  the  only  virtues  which  we  must 
manifest  towards  our  neighbour,  but  they  are  very 
important  ones.  Long-suffering  !  how  impatient  we 
often  are  with  people  because  they  are  so  slow  and 
stupid,  because  they  irritate  us  or  do  not  understand 
us  ;  yet  how  patient  God  is  with  us  and  what  great 
cause  we  give  Him  for  displeasure. 

How  many  good  resolutions  we  make  and  how  few 
we  keep,  how  many  things  we  begin  for  the  glory  of 
God  and  how  few  we  finish,  how  many  faults  we 
intend  to  conquer,  yet  how  few  we  succeed  in  really 
eradicating.  Yet  God  is  patient  with  us.  His  long- 
suffering  is  wonderful.  As  we  say  in  the  penitential 
psalm  against  Anger,  "  O  Lord,  rebuke  me  not  in 
Thine  indignation :  neither  chasten  me  in  Thy  dis- 
pleasure."*    And  again  in  another  of  the  penitential 

*   Psalm  vi.    i. 

165 


'^  ^onxt^  ^xxb(XT^  in  £enf. 

psalms,  "  If  Thou,  Lord,  wilt  be  extreme  to  mark 
what  is  done  amiss  :  O  Lord,  who  may  abide  it  ?  For 
there  is  mercy  with  Thee  :  therefore  shalt  Thou  be 
feared."*  We  must  strive  to  exercise  the  same  long- 
suffering  towards  our  neighbour  which  we  pray 
God  to  show  towards  us. 

Then  gentleness  and  goodness  :  these  are  really 
active  and  passive  sides  of  the  same  virtue,  related 
to  one  another  as  benevolence  is  to  beneficence.  The 
word  translated  gentleness,  Xprjo-TOTTjs,  is  that  kindly 
disposition  towards  others,  that  good  will  to  all  men, 
which  we  associate  with  the  idea  of  a  benevolent 
character.  The  word  dyadoa-vvr],  translated  "  good- 
ness "  on  the  other  hand,  is  the  active  and  practical 
carrying  out  of  the  spirit  of  benevolence  in  works  of 
mercy — the  ministering  to  the  needs  of  those  in  sor- 
row or  suffering.  In  our  self-examination  do  we  find 
these  three  virtues  conspicuous  in  our  relations  with 
the  world  around  us  ?  Are  we  patient  with  those 
who  try  us,  do  we  show  good  will  to  all  men,  and  are 
we  striving  so  far  as  we  have  opportunity  to  relieve 
the  needs  of  others  with  a  Christ-like  beneficence  ? 

And  lastly  in  regard  to  ourselves,  are  we  careful  to 
exercise  the  virtues  of  faith,  meekness,  and  temper- 
ance ?      Faith   in  this  passage  does  not  mean  faith 
towards  God,  but  ralhcr  what  we  should  speak  of  as 
*   Psalm  cxxx.  3,  4. 
166 


"fidelity,"  a  trustworthy  character.  Meekness  is  a 
virtue  which  of  course  we  have  to  exercise  towards 
others,  but  which  we  can  regard  as  belonging  to  our 
duty  to  ourselves,  in  that  we  must  cultivate  a  meek 
spirit  ;  for  meekness  has  been  defined  as  the  conquest 
of  passion.  And  then  Temperance,  which  includes  so 
many  virtues,  is  really  the  virtue  of  self-control,  of 
holding  ourselves  well  in  hand — a  virtue  which  we 
have  opportunities  of  practising  every  day  of  our  lives 
in  some  form  or  other. 

If  we  are  bringing  forth  these  fruits,  the  Father  will 
purge  us  with  the  discipline  of  life  that  we  may  bring 
them  forth  in  even  greater  abundance.  Adversity  is 
a  great  opportunity  for  the  practice  of  all  the  Christian 
virtues,  and  of  none  more  than  these  virtues  which 
S.  Paul  speaks  of  as  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit. 


167 


XXII. 

Sourt^  ^ctfurbag  in  &tni. 


THE  FRUITS  OF  UNION  WITH  CHRIST. 


S.  John  xv.  4,  5. 

''Abide  in  Me,  and  I  in  you.  As  the  branch  cannot  bear  fruit  or 
itself,  except  it  abide  in  the  vine  ;  no  more  can  ye,  except  ye  abide  in 
Me.  I  am  the  Vine,  ye  are  the  branches :  He  that  abideth  in  Me, 
and  I  in  him,  the  same  bringeth  forth  much  fruit  :  for  without  Me  ye 
can  do  nothing." 


HERE  are  few  images  or  figures  which  bring 
before  us  the   reciprocal  conditions  of  our 
union  with  Christ  so  perfectly  as  the  image 
of  the  vine.     Let  us  therefore  examine  it  carefully. 

"  If  ye  abide  in  Me."  The  abiding  in  Christ 
depends  upon  the  wi//  of  the  believer.  It  is  not 
merely  a  negative  result  of  our  incorporation  into 
Christ    by    baptism,    it    demands    the    effort    of   our 

168 


t^t  ^xuiU  of  (Union  wxt^  C^rief.  Se- 

own  will  for  its  continuance.  We  must  abide  in 
Him,  not  only  He  in  us.  There  is,  we  see,  a 
reciprocal  "  abiding."  Christ  wills  to  abide  in  us, 
and  we  must  will  to  abide  in  Him.  If  we  do  not 
cling  to  Him  by  the  exercise  of  our  will  we  shall 
not  long  abide  in  Him. 

"  As  the  branch  cannot  bear  fruit  of  itself,  except 
it  abide  in  the  vine ;  no  more  can  ye,  except  ye  abide 
in  Me."  The  preposition  which  is  translated  by  '*of" 
(aTTo)  indicates  the  source  of  the  fruit.  The  branch 
cannot  bear  fruit  "of  itself"  as  if  it  had  vital  forces 
of  its  own  ;  the  life  by  which  it  lives  is  the  life  of 
the  whole  vine,  and  it  can  only  preserve  its  own 
life,  as  a  branch,  by  preserving  its  relation  to  the 
vine. 

The  same  mystery  is  taught  us  by  S.  Paul  when 
he  describes  the  Church  of  Christ  under  the  figure  of 
a  "  body  and  its  members."  The  whole  Church  is 
the  mystical  Body  of  Christ,  we  are  members  of  that 
body ;  and  we  can  have  no  life  apart  from  Christ. 
Different  members  have  different  functions,  the  eye 
is  the  organ  of  sight,  the  ear  is  the  organ  of  hearing  ; 
but  the  eye  cannot  see  and  the  ear  cannot  hear  apart 
from  the  body.  The  life  of  the  body  is  functionised 
in  the  eye  for  the  purpose  of  sight,  in  the  ear  for  the 
purpose  of  hearing ;  but  at  the  moment  of  death, 
though  the  eye  and  the  ear  retain  all  their  intricate 

169 


parts,  they  can  neither  see  nor  hear,  because  they  are 
separated  from  the  life  of  the  body. 

We  may  carry  the  analogy  a  step  further  and 
show  how  the  researches  of  science  often  help 
true  faith.  If  we  were  to  ask  the  scientist  about 
the  mystery  of  life,  he  would  have  to  admit  that 
it  has  escaped  all  the  investigations  of  science. 
No  one  knows  what  life  is.  He  would  perhaps 
say,  as  some  do,  that,  since  each  of  the  myriad  cells  of 
which  the  body  is  composed  has  its  own  life, 
the  life  of  the  body  is  the  sum  total  of  the 
life  of  all  these  cells.  Further,  he  would  have  to 
admit,  what  is  not  inconsistent  with  this  theory,  that 
when  the  life  of  the  whole  body  departs  at  the 
moment  which  we  call  death,  the  life  of  all  the 
cells  begins  to  decay  and  gradually  dies  also,  not 
immediately,  but  very  soon  as  corruption  sets  in, 
some  cells  living  longer  than  others. 

But  how  wonderfully  this  illustrates  the  depen- 
dence of  our  spiritual  life  upon  union  with  Christ. 
We  are  each  of  us  members  of  His  one  Body, 
living  with  His  Life  ;  and  so  long  as  we  abide  in 
Him,  and  preserve  our  organic  union  with  Him, 
we  each  live  our  true  spiritual  life,  producing  the 
fruits  which  are  the  result  of  our  union  with  Christ. 

But  the  moment  we  cease  to  abide  in  Him,  the 
moment    that    wc    arc    separated     from     Him,    our 

170 


t^c  fruits  of  (Union  mii^  Christ  ^ 

spiritual  life  begins  to  decay  just  as  the  life  of 
each  of  the  many  cells  of  the  body  begins  to  fail 
when  life  is  withdrawn  from  the  whole  body.  The 
cell  can  only  preserve  its  life  by  its  relation  to  the 
whole  body,  it  cannot  live  apart  from  the  body, 
neither  can  we  live,  spiritually,  apart  from  Christ. 
This  is  what  our  Lord  teaches  us  in  these  words, 
"  As  the  branch  cannot  bear  fruit  of  itself,  except 
it  abide  in  the  vine ;  no  more  can  ye,  except  ye 
abide  in  Me." 

"  I  am  the  Vine,  ye  are  the  branches :  He  that 
abideth  in  Me,  and  I  in  him,  the  same  bringeth 
forth  much  fruit  :  for  without  Me  ye  can  do  nothing." 
In  this  passage  the  whole  allegory  is  summed  up 
and  expressed  with  even  greater  definiteness.  "  Ye 
are  the  branches "  states  distinctly  what  had  been 
assumed  before.  Christ  had  said,  "  Every  branch 
in  Me  that  beareth  not  fruit  He  taketh  away,"  but  had 
not  told  us  who  the  branches  were.  Now  He  says 
emphatically,  "  I  am  the  Vine,  ye  are  the  branches," 
and  adds,  ''without  Me  ye  can  do  nothing."  This 
does  not  mean  that  without  Christ's  aid  we  can 
do  nothing,  as  so  many  people  suppose,  and  as 
our  English  translation  implies.  The  Greek 
word  translated  "  without "  {x<^pls)  means  apart  from, 
separated  from  ;  so  that  we  might  render  it  "  apart 
from   Me  ye   can  do    nothing."      When    once   there 

171 


is  a  separation  between  Christ  and  ourselves,  when 
we  have  ceased  to  abide  in  Him,  when  the  organic 
union  has  been  interrupted  we  can  do  nothing. 
"  Ye  can  do  nothing."  What  does  this  signify  ?  It 
means  we  can  produce  no  fruit  which  the  Father 
will  recognise  as  the  fruit  of  the  vine,  as  Christian 
fruit. 

If  we  are  to  understand  this  we  must  realise 
that  the  New  Testament  regards  every  man  as 
living  in  this  world  in  one  of  two  distinct  states 
— the  state  of  nature  or  the  state  of  grace.  This 
is  what  S.  Paul  means  when  he  speaks  of  the 
"  natural "  man  and  the  "  spiritual "  man,  and  says 
that  "  the  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  thincfs 
of  the  Spirit  of  God  :  for  they  are  foolishness 
unto  him  :  neither  can  he  know  them,  because  they 
are  spiritually  discerned."*  And  that  "they  that 
are  after  the  flesh  do  mind  the  thincrs  of  the  flesh : 
but  they  that  are  after  the  Spirit  the  things  of 
the  Spirit.  For  to  be  carnally  minded  is  death ; 
but  to  be  spiritually  minded  is  life  and  peace. 
Because  the  carnal  mind  is  enmity  against  God, 
for  it  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  God,  neither 
indeed  can  be.  So  then  they  that  are  in  the  flesh 
cannot  please  God.  But  ye  arc  not  in  the  flesh, 
but    in    the   Spirit,   if  so    be   that  the   Spirit  of  God 

*   I  Cor.  ii.  14. 
172 


t^t  f  ruit6  of  QXnion  mt^  C^xxBt  ^ 

dwell  in  you.""^'  By  "  flesh "  and  "  spirit "  in  this 
passage  S.  Paul  means  man  in  his  natural  state, 
and  man  in  his  spiritual  state. 

Man  in  his  natural  state  can  produce  natural 
virtues  ;  for  Solon  was  prudent,  Aristides  was  just, 
Leonidas  exhibited  the  virtue  of  fortitude,  and 
Socrates  was  temperate.  These  virtues  are  not 
without  their  value  in  our  life  as  citizens  of  this 
world,  but  they  have  to  be  raised  to  a  different 
plane  if  they  are  to  be  recognised  by  God  as 
fruits  of  the  true  Vine,  Christ. 

The  motive  and  end  is  different  in  the  natural 
and  in  the  Christian  virtues.  The  motive  in  the 
Christian  virtue  is  the  love  of  God,  its  end  the 
glory  of  God  ;  whereas  the  motive  of  the  natural 
virtue  is  love  of  man,  often  love  of  self,  and  its  end 
generally  the  glory  of  self  Man  can  live  apart  from 
Christ  in  a  state  of  nature,  producing  natural  fruits 
and  looking  for  a  reward  in  natural  beatitude,  that 
is  in  the  happiness  which  belongs  to  a  man  in  a  state 
of  nature.  But  this  is  not  the  happiness  to  which 
the  Christian  looks  forward. 

Our  Lord  emphatically  tells  Nicodemus,  "  Except 
a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of 
God."  "  Born  again "  (avadev)  may  be  translated 
*'  born  from  above  ; "  and   lest  there  should  be  any 

*   Rom.  viii.  5-9, 


^? 


^onri^  ^dfurbag  in  £eni 


doubt  as  to  the  means  by  which  this  new  birth  is 
to  be  attained,  Christ  adds,  "  Except  a  man  be 
born  of  water  and  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  God.  That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh 
is  flesh  ;  and  that  which  is  born  of  the  Spirit  is 
spirit."* 

The  whole  teaching  of  the  New  Testament  is  quite 
consistent  on  this  point.  It  takes  its  origin  from 
these  words  of  our  Lord,  and  is  recognised  and 
developed  especially  in  the  writings  of  S.  Paul  and 
S.  John.  The  happiness  to  which  the  Christian  soul 
looks  forward  is  to  see  God  and  to  dwell  with  God  in 
eternity,  and  this  our  Lord  says  can  belong  only  to 
those  who  are  "  born  from  above,"  "  born  of  water 
and  Spirit." 

Natural  virtues  are  not  to  be  despised  ;  but  Christ 
did  not  come  into  this  world  to  live  and  die  only  that 
man  might  produce  the  natural  virtues,  which  he  had 
been  able  to  produce  before  the  Incarnation.  Christ 
came  to  take  us  into  union  with  Himself  that  we 
might  produce  the  fruits  of  His  life,  the  fruits  of  the 
true  Vine,  the  Christian  virtues,  and  that  the  practice 
of  these  virtues  might  prepare  us  for  a  life  in  heaven 
in  which  every  faculty  of  our  nature  should  find  its 
beatitude — a  life  in  which  the  intellect  should  attain  to 
its  highest  powers  in  seeing  God,  and  the  soul  should 

*  S.  John  iii.   3,   5,  and  6. 


th  ftmiB  of  (Union  wtt^  Cartel  *«• 

find  its  supreme  happiness  in  loving  God.  But  this 
must  depend  absolutely  upon  our  abiding  in  Christ  ; 
for,  as  He  tells  us,  "  apart  from  Me  ye  can  do 
nothing " — nothing,  that  is,  which  pertains  to  our 
life  as  Christians. 


175 


XXIIl. 

5'ourt^  (Itlonbaj  in  SLCnt 


THE     RESULT    OF     SEPARATION    FROM 

CHRIST. 


S.  John  xv.  6-io, 

'*  If  a  man  abide  not  in  Me,  he  is  cast  forth  as  a  branch,  and  is 
withered  ;  and  men  gather  them,  and  cast  them  into  the  fire,  and  they 
are  burned.  If  ye  abide  in  Me,  and  My  words  abide  in  you,  ye  shall 
ask  what  ye  will,  and  it  shall  be  done  unto  you.  Herein  is  My 
Father  glorified,  that  ye  bear  much  fruit ;  so  shall  ye  be  My  disciples. 
As  the  Father  hath  loved  Me,  so  have  I  loved  you :  continue  ye  in 
My  love.  If  ye  keep  My  commandments,  ye  shall  abide  in  My  love  ; 
even  as  I  have  kept  My  Father's  commandments,  and  abide  in  His 
love." 

F  a  man  abide  not  in  Me,  he  is  cast  forth 
as  a  branch,  and  is  withered."  Hitherto 
Christ  has  spoken  only  of  branches  which 
maintain  a  vital  union  with  Himself.  These  fall  into 
two  classes — those  that  bear  fruit  and  those  that  do 
not  bear   fruit.       The   latter  were  taken   away,  the 

176 


(geguft  of  ^eygration  from  C^rigi  ^ 

former  were  purged  that  they  might  bring  forth 
more  fruit.  Now  our  Lord  passes  to  the  consider- 
ation of  those  who  by  their  own  wilful  act,  that  is 
by  mortal  sin,  have  become  separated  from  Him. 
The  unfruitful  branches  are  taken  away,  these, 
however,  are  cast  forth,  that  is,  cast  out  of  the 
vineyard  and  become  withered. 

Here  we  have  brought  into  sharpest  contrast 
the  consequences  of  union  with  Christ  and  of  the 
loss  of  that  union.  Union  with  Christ  results  in 
the  production  of  fruit,  separation  from  Christ  not 
only  implies  loss  of  the  power  of  fruit  bearing,  but 
the  rejection  of  the  branch  itself.  It  is  cast  forth 
and  withered.  For  a  while  it  may  remain  upon  the 
vine,  disfiguring  it  by  its  lifeless  aspect ;  but  it  will 
not  be  for  long. 

We  must  carefully  observe  that  our  Blessed  Lord 
in  this  allegory  distinctly  recognises  three  classes  of 
branches,  representing  three  kinds  of  Christians  : — 
those  who  abide  in  Him  and  produce  fruit ;  those 
who  abide  in  Him,  but  do  not  produce  fruit ;  and 
those  who  neither  abide  in  Him  nor  bear  fruit. 
The  fate  of  this  last  class  is  brought  before  us  in 
the  words  we  are  considering.  They  are  cast  forth 
from  the  vineyard  and  withered.  But  more  than 
this  :  "  men  gather  them  and  cast  them  into  the  fire 
and  they  are  burned." 

177  N 


^^  '^ouxi^  (Qitonbag  in  &eni 

The  vine  is  the  most  productive  of  all  trees,  that 
is,  it  produces  the  greatest  amount  of  fruit  in 
proportion  to  its  size.  In  passing  through  vine- 
yards in  a  wine-producing  country  we  cannot  but 
be  struck  with  the  insignificant  size  of  the  vines 
which  are  so  abundantly  laden  with  grapes.  We 
must  not  think  of  the  vines  which  we  see  in  hot- 
houses in  England  or  trained  against  the  walls  of  a 
house,  but  of  the  vineyards  where  grape-growing  is 
the  industry  of  the  country. 

One  reason  why  these  vines  are  kept  so  small  is 
that  all  their  strength  may  be  put  forth  in  producing 
fruit,  because  the  grapes  are  the  only  things  of  value 
which  the  vine  produces.  The  wood  of  the  vine  is 
quite  valueless.  There  are  many  trees,  like  the 
walnut  tree,  which  produce  fruit,  and  the  wood  of 
which  is  also  of  great  value.  Rut  it  is  not  so  with 
the  vine,  the  withered  branches  are  burned  because 
they  are  worthless.  S.  Augustine  has  a  beautiful 
saying  in  regard  to  this.  "  To  the  branch  one  of 
two  things  is  fitting,  either  the  vine  or  the  fire."* 
The  scene  suggested  by  this  verse  is  the  withered 
and  worthless  branches  of  a  great  vineyard,  gathered 
outside  the  vineyard,  and  burning,  while  the  fruitful 
branches  remain  in  the  vine  producing  their  luxuriant 
fruit. 

*   "Unum  de  duobus  palmiti  congruit,  aut  vitis  aut  ignis." 

178 


(geguft  of  Reparation  from  C^mt,  ^ 

But  let  us  notice  the  sugg^estiveness  of  the  words 
which  describe  the  scene — "  cast  forth  as  a  branch 
and  withered  ;  and  men  gather  them  and  cast  them 
into  the  fire,  and  they  are  burned."  Of  the  five 
verbs  in  this  sentence  the  tenses  of  the  first  two, 
"cast    forth"    and    "withered"    {^^X^drj,  e^r]pdv6rj),   are 

aorists,     the      last    three    (a-wdyova-iv,    ^dXKovo-iv,    KaUrai), 

"gather,"  "cast  into  the  fire,"  and  "are  burned," 
are  in  the  present  tense.  The  "  casting  forth "  and 
the  "  becoming  withered "  are  definite  acts,  the 
result  of  a  definite  sin  by  which  we  separate 
ourselves  from  Christ.  But  the  "  being  gathered 
together,"  the  "  being  cast  into  the  fire,"  and  "  being 
burned,"  are  states  which  continue — at  least  so  the 
Greek  implies. 

How  true  this  is  of  spiritual  experience.  The 
action  which  severs  our  vital  union  with  the  vine 
will  take  but  a  short  time  to  complete — one  wilful 
deliberate  act  of  mortal  sin ;  but  the  burning  to 
which  our  Lord  refers,  as  continuing,  is  evidently 
not  the  punishment  of  eternity  ;  for  He  says  they 
are  dem^;'  cast  into  the  fire  and  being  burned.  The 
verbs  are  present,  not  future ;  they  refer  not  to 
something  which  will  happen  after  the  Day  of 
Judgment,  but  to  something  which  is  taking  place 
now,  to  something  which  happens  in  this  life,  and 
which  continues. 

179 


'^^  ^onrt^  (tttonbdg  in  &ent. 

What  is  this  ?  Surely  it  is  that  fiery  furnace  of 
temptation  in  which  we  all  move.  But  this  has  no 
more  power  to  injure  those  who  are  in  Christ  than 
Nebuchadnezzar's  furnace  had  to  injure  the  three 
holy  children  who  walked  in  it  unhurt.  There  was 
with  them,  as  there  is  with  us,  the  form  of  a  fourth 
like  unto  the  Son  of  God.*  If  we  are  in  Christ 
temptation  cannot  hurt  us.  If  we  are  not  in  Christ 
men  gather  us  together.  The  word  (awdyova-iv) 
suggests  the  binding  of  the  withered  branches  into 
bundles  for  the  fire.  So  when  the  soul  is  separated 
from  Christ  its  binding  begins,  a  binding  with  the 
chains  of  sin,  the  soul  is  bound  together  with 
others,  its  companions  in  evil  habits,  and  then 
bound  hand  and  foot,  so  to  speak,  is  cast  into  the 
fires  of  temptation. 

What  are  the  chains  by  which  the  sinner  is 
bound  ?  A  collect  of  our  Prayer  Book  tells  us, 
— *'  tied  and  bound  with  the  chains  of  our  sins." 
Who  forged  those  chains  which  bind  the  sinner .'' 
He  forged  them  himself.  Each  separate  link  was 
some  act  of  sin  ;  these  acts,  repeated  again  and 
again,  went  to  form  a  habit  of  sin  ;  and  we  all 
know  what  it  is  to  be  tied  and  bound  with  the 
chains  of  evil  habits.  So  strong  they  are  that, 
though    we    make    many    efforts    to    get    free,    we 

*    C/.   Daniel  iii.  19-26. 
180 


(Refiuft  of  ^eyarafion  from  C^mt. 


^^ 


cannot  break  them.  They  were  not  forged  all  at 
once,  but  very  gradually.  There  was  a  time  when 
it  would  have  been  easy  to  have  broken  the  bad 
habit,  but  after  perhaps  years  of  indulgence  our 
case  seems  hopeless.  We  know,  however,  that  it 
is  not  hopeless,  that  there  are  no  limits  to  the 
power  of  the  precious  Blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  that 
if  we  come  to  Him  with  penitence  one  drop  of 
His  Blood  can  break  those  chains  and  set  the 
sinner  free  ;  for  we  know  that  the  Blood  of  Jesus 
Christ  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin.* 

The  phrase,  ''  men  bring  them  together,"  suggests 
especially  the  difficulty  of  freeing  ourselves  from 
evil  companions  who  have  tempted  us.  "  If  I 
could  only  get  away  from  that  one  companion," 
says  the  sinner  to  himself;  "but  when  I  am  with 
him  all  my  good  resolutions  vanish,  and  I  seem 
to  be  bound  by  chains  which  I  cannot  break." 
Perhaps  his  companion  is  saying  the  same  to 
himself;  each  wishes  to  get  free,  neither  has  the 
strength  to  break  away,  and  so  both,  bound  together, 
go  on  burning  in  the  furnace  of  temptation  like  the 
rejected  branches  in  the  fires  outside   the  vineyard. 

"If  ye  abide  in  Me,  and  My  words  abide  in  you, 
ye  shall  ask  what  ye  will,  and  it  shall  be  done  unto 
you.       Herein  is  My  Father  glorified,  that  ye  bear 

*   C/.   I  S.  John  i.  7. 
181 


much  fruit  ;  so  shall  ye  be  My  disciples."  In  these 
two  verses  are  shown  the  blessings  of  union  with 
Christ  in  prayer  fulfilled  and  fruit  produced,  and 
we  are  reminded  that  the  fruitfulness  of  the  vine  is 
the  glory  of  the  husbandman.  Therefore,  Christ 
says,  "  Herein  is  My  Father  glorified  that  ye  bear 
much  fruit." 

Two  great  results  of  union  with  Christ  are  here 
brought  before  us — the  glory  of  God  is  seen  in 
the  fruit  we  produce,  and  the  answer  to  prayer  is 
the  evidence  of  our  discipleship.  Everyone  can 
pray,  even  those  who  are  not  in  a  state  of  grace, 
but  it  is  the  effectual  fervent  prayer  of  a  righteous 
man  that  availeth  much.*  God  hears  the  prayers 
of  sinners,  if  it  were  not  so  we  should  indeed  be 
hopeless.  But  still  mc^re  does  God  grant  the  prayers 
of  His  saints,  of  those  who  are  living  the  life  of 
uni^..  through  Jesus  Christ. 

"  As  the  Father  hath  loved  Me,  so  have  I  loved 
you :  continue  ye  in  My  love.  If  ye  keep  My 
commandments,  yo  shall  abide  in  My  love ;  even 
as  I  have  kept  My  Father's  commandments,  and 
abide  in  His  Love."  Throughout  all  these  dis- 
courses wc  find  a  sort  of  antiphon  constantly 
recurring,  an  antiphon  in  which  the  relation  of 
love  to  obedience  is  continually  brought   before  us. 

*    C/.  S.  James  v.  1 6. 
182 


(Reauff  of  geparafton  from  C^mt«  ^ 

"  If  ye  love  Me,  ye  will  keep  My  commandments."* 
*'  He  that  hath  My  commandments  and  keepeth 
them,  he  it  is  that  loveth  Me."  "  If  ye  keep  My 
commandments,  ye  shall  abide  in  My  love."t  Thus 
we  are  first  taught  that  obedience  is  the  consequence 
of  love,  then  that  it  is  the  evidence  of  love,  and 
lastly,  that  it  is  the  preservative  of  love,  that  if  we 
keep  Christ's  commands  we  shall  abide  in  His  love. 
Love  is  the  greatest  and  most  godlike  of  the 
Christian  virtues.  The  end  and  aim  of  every 
spiritual  life  must  be  to  grow  in  love,  and  we 
learn  that  there  is  but  one  way  to  this — the  path 
of  obedience. 

*   S.  John  xiv.  15.  f  S.  John  xiv.  21  ;  xv.  10. 


183 


XXIV. 


THE  JOY  OF  UNION  WITH  CHRIST. 


S.  John  xv.   ii. 

"These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  that  My  joy  might  remain 
in  you,  and  that  your  joy  might  be  full." 

llTH  this  verse  commences  a  fresh  section  of 
the  discourse.  After  having  treated  of  the 
union  between  Christ  and  the  soul,  as 
typified  by  the  vine  and  the  branches,  and  the 
fearful  results  of  its  forfeiture,  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  goes  on  to  tell  us  of  some  of  the  issues  of 
that  union,  some  of  its  consequences  to  His  disciples 
— consequences  both  joyful  and  sad.  And  first  He 
speaks  of  the  joy  which  is  the  fruit  of  their  union 
with  Him.  He  says,  "These  things  have  I  spoken 
unto  you  that  My  joy  might  remain  in  you,  and 
that  your  joy  miglit  be  full." 

184 


t^c  gog  of  (Union  wii^  C^xid.  s«- 

What  were  these  things  which  He  had  spoken 
unto  them  ?  They  fall  under  two  heads.  He  had 
told  them  of  His  departure — that  surely  could  not 
fill  them  with  anything  but  sorrow,  except  in  so  far 
as  their  love  led  them  to  rejoice  that  His  work  was 
accomplished,  His  glory  won,  and  that  He  was  going  to 
His  Father.  Again  He  had  told  them  of  the  various 
consolations  which  should  sustain  them  under  the 
sorrow  of  His  departure.  And  finally  He  had 
revealed  to  them  the  privileges  which  should  flow 
from  their  union  with  Him,  and  these  last  were  the 
things  which  were  to  fill  them  with  joy,  and  that  joy 
was  to  be  not  only  their  own,  but  His  joy  also.  He 
says,  "  These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you  that  My 
joy  might  remain  in  you."  The  words  in  the  original 
for  "  My  joy  "  (17  Xapj?  7  e/Lt?))  are  very  emphatic.  They 
remind  us  of  the  expression,  "  My  peace  I  give  unto 
you."  The  joy  which  is  Mine,  the  peace  which  is 
Mine,  I  give  unto  you.  Not  as  a  passing  emotion 
but  as  a  permanent  possession. 

"  That  My  joy  might  remain  with  you."  In  what 
characteristics  did  this  joy  differ  from  the  world's 
joy  ^  (i)  In  permanence.  The  world's  joy  never 
lasts.  It  is  a  tumultuous  emotion  which  quickly 
passes  away.  Christian  joy  is  a  permanent  posses- 
sion, like  Christian  peace — the  world  cannot  bestow 
it  and   the  world  cannot  destroy  it.      S.  Paul  speaks 

185 


-^9  ^oxitt^  ^uesbag  in  &ent 

of  himself  as  rejoicing  in  tribulation.     He  says,  "  I  am 
exceeding  joyful  in  all  our  tribulation."* 

(2)  Again,  it  is  the  outcome  of  sorrow.  In  the  next 
chapter  Christ  contrasts  the  joy  of  the  disciples  with 
that  of  the  world.  He  says,  "  The  world  shall  rejoice  : 
and  ye  shall  be  sorrowful,  but  your  sorrow  shall  be 
turned  into  joy."f  Sorrow  is  the  raw  material  of 
Christian  joy,  f(^r  it  is,  our  Lord  says,  "  turned  into 
joy."  How  sad  to  have  no  sorrow  which  can  be 
turned  into  joy. 

This,  too,  is  the  teaching  of  the  Psalmist.  "  He  that 
now  goeth  on  his  way  weeping,  and  beareth  forth 
good  seed  :  shall  doubtless  come  again  with  joy,  and 
bring  his  sheaves  with  him. "J 

And  it  is  referred  to  in  the  book  of  Revelation 
as  one  of  the  joys  of  heaven:  "And  God  shall 
wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes :  and  there 
shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow,  nor  cry- 
ing, neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain :  for 
the  former  things  are  passed  away."§  How  sad  in 
that  great  day  to  have  no  tears  for  God  to  wipe 
away. 

(3)  But  this  joy  is  not  only  the  outcome  of 
sorrow,  it  gives  us  courage  to  bear  (Uir  trials.  As 
we  read  of  our  Lord  Himself,  "Who  for  the  joy  that 

*  2  Cor.  vii.  4.  t  '^-  Jo^"  ^vi.  20. 

X  Psalm  cxxvi.  6,    Prayer  Book  Version.         §  Rev.  xxi.  4. 

186 


€U  gog  of  (Union  mtf}  €6n6t  ^ 

was  set  before  Him,  endured  the  cross,  despising  the 
shame."* 

(4)  And  lastly,  it  is  the  result  of  self-sacrificing 
love.  Such  was  the  joy  of  our  Lord  to  which  we 
have  just  referred  ;  such  is  the  joy  of  His  followers — 
the  joy  of  suffering  for  love's  sake,  for  love  of  God 
and  for  love  of  those  whom  God  loves.  This,  too,  is 
the  joy  of  missionary  work  for  Christ. 

We  must,  however,  remember  that  joy  is  the  second 
fruit  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  that  our  Lord  not  only 
spoke  of  His  joy  remaining  in  His  disciples,  but  of 
their  own  joy  being  full.  Most  Christians  admit,  in 
theory  at  least,  that  love  is  an  important  virtue  of 
Christian  life,  and  lament  perhaps  their  own  want  of 
charity  ;  but  (e\v  go  on  to  realise  that  joy  is  just  as 
much  the  fruit  of  the  Holy  Ghost  as  love  is,  and, 
while  not  equally  important  in  Christian  life,  certainly 
ought  to  be  found  there.  Love,  joy,  peace — these  are 
the  first  three  fruits  of  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in 
our  lives.  How  many  of  us  speak  of  Christian  life  as 
though  it  were  altogether  a  life  of  sorrow.  And  yet 
joy  is  one  of  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  and  no  one  can 
read  the  Epistles  of  S.  Paul,  for  instance,  without 
observing  how  large  a  place  joy  occupies  in  his  life. 

In  these  last  discourses  of  our  Blessed  Lord,  uttered 
as  they  were  on  the  very  tlireshold  of  His  Passion, 

*   Heb.  xii.  2. 

187 


5'ourt^  ZuCBixXT^  in  £enf. 


and  filled  with  references  to  His  departure,  there  is 
yet  found  again  and  again  the  note  of  joy.  Not  only 
in  this  passage,  but  in  the  next  chapter,  He  promises 
that  sorrow  shall  be  turned  into  joy,  that  when  they 
see  Him  again  their  heart  shall  rejoice,  and  that  their 
joy  no  man  taketh  from  them.  That  they  are  to 
pray,  not  only  that  they  may  receive  what  they  ask 
for,  but  that  their  joy  may  be  full.  And  He  finishes 
the  discourse  with  the  words,  "  Be  of  good  cheer  (that 
is,  rejoice),  I  have  overcome  the  world." 

But  what  is  the  special  function  of  joy  in  the 
Christian  life,  the  special  office  of  this  fruit  of  the 
Holy  Spirit?  A  consideration  of  the  Old  Testament 
phrase,  "  the  oil  of  joy,"-''  "  the  oil  of  gladness,"t  will 
help  us  to  answer  this  question.  What  is  the  function 
of  oil  ?  Among  other  things  it  saves  friction  ;  we  pour 
oil  into  the  wheels  of  a  machine  and  it  prevents  the 
friction  which  would  otherwise  take  place.  Without 
oil  the  machine  would  soon  tear  itself  to  pieces,  so  to 
speak,  through  friction  ;  but  oil  [)revents  this.  So  joy 
in  spiritual  life  saves  us  from  that  friction  which  does 
so  much  to  spoil  all  that  is  beautiful  in  life.  If  you 
go  about  rejoicing,  happy  in  your  union  with  Chiist, 
glad  to  bear  life's  sorrows,  to  meet  its  tribulations  in 
the  thought  that  they  are  but  the  seeds  of  future  joys, 
how  little  life's  tribulations  will  be  able  to  injure  you, 

*   Isaiah  Ixi.  3.  f  Psalm  xlv.  7. 

188 


tU  gog  of  (Union  mi^  C^xid.  ^ 

how  great  will  be  your  power  to  help  others  in  their 
journey  through  life. 

We  all  know  how  helpful  a  cheerful  person  is,  one 
whose  presence  is  like  sunshine  in  the  house,  who, 
when  things  go  wrong,  instead  of  making  them  worse 
by  bemoaning  them,  starts  in  at  once  to  remedy  them, 
if  that  is  possible,  or,  if  not,  to  set  an  example  of 
bearing  them  cheerfully.  Take  two  Christians,  one 
who  cultivates  the  spirit  of  joy  and  one  who  does  not. 
The  first  will  go  through  life  so  happily  that  tempta- 
tions will  lose  half  their  force  and  trials,  half  their 
power  to  weary  him.  The  other  looks  at  the  dark 
side  of  life,  exaggerates  its  trials  and  difficulties,  and 
gets  out  of  every  difficulty  the  greatest  amount  of 
friction  possible.  What  he  needs  is  to  pour  the  oil 
of  joy  into  the  machinery  of  life,  and,  if  he  did,  many 
things  would  be  possible  to  him  which  he  deems  quite 
hopeless.  Take  a  rusty  piece  of  machinery,  turn  the 
crank,  and  the  wheel  moves  with  great  difficulty, 
perhaps  refuses  to  move  at  all.  But  pour  oil  upon 
the  axle  and  begin  to  turn  the  wheel  slowly.  There 
will  be  some  difficulty  at  first,  but  soon,  as  the  oil  is 
absorbed,  the  rust  wears  off  and  the  machine  does  its 
work.  It  is  a  type  of  human  life.  Joy  is  that  which 
lubricates  life's  machinery  and  makes  it  work  easily. 

A  great  writer  on  the  spiritual  life  asks  what  is 
the   first   weapon    with   which    to   meet   temptation, 

189 


-^^  ^onxtf^  S^ueebdg  in  £enf. 

and  answers  cheerfulness.  What,  he  says,  is  the 
second  one  ?  Again  cheerfulness.  But  what  is  the 
third  ?  Still  cheerfulness,  always  cheerfulness.  He 
pictures  two  children  running  along  the  road,  one 
of  them  falls,  and  lays  there  crying  till  someone 
comes  along  and  picks  him  up.  The  other  also  falls, 
but  picks  himself  up  and  goes  on  his  way.  Those 
children  are  types  of  two  classes — those  who  cultivate 
the  spirit  of  joy  and  those  who  do  not.  The  one  after 
every  fall  wastes  time  and  strength  in  useless  lamen- 
tations ;  the  other  gathers  himself  together  and  with 
an  act  of  contrition  for  the  past,  at  once  sets  him- 
self to  do  better  in  the  present,  and  to  be  more 
careful  in  the  future. 

We  must  bear  in  mind,  however,  that  joy  is  d.  fruit 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  not  a  gifty  that  its  production 
depends  first  upon  our  union  with  Christ,  then  upon 
our  own  efforts,  our  own  endeavours,  to  bear  life's 
trials,  to  meet  life's  temptations  in  the  spirit  of  cheer- 
fulness. 


190 


XXV. 

f ift§  TTebneBbag  in  £ent. 


THE    FRIENDS    OF    CHRIST. 


S.  John  xv.   12-15. 

*'This  is  My  commandment,  That  ye  love  one  another,  as  I  have 
loved  you.  Greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this,  that  a  man  lay  down 
his  life  for  his  friends.  Ye  are  My  friends,  if  ye  do  whatsoever  I 
command  you.  Henceforth  I  call  you  not  servants  ;  for  the  servant 
knoweth  not  what  his  lord  doeth  :  but  I  have  called  you  friends  ;  for 
all  things  that  I  have  heard  of  my  Father  I  have  made  known  unto 
you." 

[ERE  we  have  a  repetition  of  the  antiphon  of 
these  discourses — love  and  its  consequence 
obedience.  But  not  only  is  the  measure  of 
the  love  given  here,  as  in  the  promulgation  of  the  new 
commandment — "  As  I  have  loved  you,"  but  lest 
there  should  be  any  mistake  the  manner  in  which 
this  love  is  to  be  manifested  is  indicated  in  the  tense 

191 


§0-  ^iftf}  ^tbnCBbd^  in  &enf> 

of  the  verb  "  loved  "  (vy<^7rr]aa).  It  is  an  aorist,  and 
therefore  points  to  some  distinct  act  of  love,  and  that 
act  is  shown  to  be  the  supreme  act  of  love  by  which 
Christ  laid  down  His  life  for  the  world,  for  He  says, 
"  Greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this,  that  a  man  lay 
down  his  life  for  his  friends."  And  yet  our  Lord's 
act  was  even  greater  than  this,  for  He  laid  down  His 
life  not  only  for  His  friends,  but  for  His  enemies,  for 
those  who  murdered  Him.  And  even  those  whom 
He  honoured  by  the  name  of  friends,  how  poorly  they 
showed  their  friendship,  for  one  betrayed  Him, 
another  denied  Him,  and  all  forsook  Him  in  His 
hour  of  adversity. 

He  teaches  us  here  that  the  measure  of  love  is 
the  sacrifice  of  life.  He  offered  up  His  life  for  us 
upon  the  Cross  through  death,  and  if  we  are  to  love 
the  brethren  as  He  commands,  we  must  offer  up  our 
life,  not  through  death  but    through   loving  service. 

S.  John  develops  this  thought  very  beautifully 
in  his  first  Epistle, w^here  he  says,  ''Hereby  perceive 
we  the  love  of  God,  because  He  laid  down  His  life 
for  us  :  and  we  ought  to  lay  down  our  lives  for  the 
brethren.  But  whoso  hath  this  world's  good,  and 
seeth  his  brother  have  need,  and  shutteth  up  his 
bowels  of  compassion  from  him,  how  dwelleth  the 
love  of  God  in  him  ?  "* 

*    I  S.  John  iii.  i6,  17. 
192 


t^c  SyJenbg  of  C^mt>  ^ 

There  is  a  legend  that  in  extreme  old  age  S.  John 
confined  his  preaching  to  his  flock  at  Ephesus  to  one 
text — "  Little  children,  love  one  another."  Whether 
the  legend  is  true  or  not  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
his  Epistle  is  but  the  development  of  that  text,  and 
that  he  learnt  this  sublime  doctrine  from  the  last 
discourses  of  his  divine  Master. 

There  is  a  very  striking  play  upon  the  words 
translated  "  life  "  and  "  good  "  in  the  Greek  of  the 
above  passage,  which  is  lost  in  our  translation.  In 
the  original  both  words  mean  life,  but  in  a  different 
sense.  The  first  (^vxn)  signifies  that  physical  life 
which  S.  John  says  we  ought,  if  need  be,  to  lay 
down  for  the  brethren.  The  second  (/Stos-)  means 
the  life  which  we  live  in  this  world,  the  life  which 
is  made  up  of  what  we  say  and  do.  This  is  the 
word  we  use  when  we  describe  the  history  of  a 
man's  life  under  the  term  "biography."  S.  John 
says  we  ought  to  lay  down  our  very  /z/e  for  the 
brethren,  and  yet  too  often  we  grudge  to  spend 
our  means  in  his  service.  He  implies  that  there 
may  be  times  when  the  actual  sacrifice  of  life  for 
others  become  a  duty ;  the  soldier  realises  this 
when  he  dies  for  his  country.  This  may  be 
exceptional,  but  for  all  of  us,  he  says,  as  opportunity 
offers,  there  must  be  a  readiness  to  employ  time 
and  means  and  strength  in  our  neighbour's  service. 

193  O 


*'  Ye  are  My  friends,  if  ye  do  whatsoever  I 
command  you.  Henceforth  I  call  you  not 
servants ;  for  the  servant  knoweth  not  what 
his  lord  doeth  :  but  I  have  called  you  friends  ; 
for  all  things  that  I  have  heard  of  My  Father 
I  have  made  known  unto  you."  How  precious  is 
the  privilege  of  friendship  with  one  of  the  world's 
great  men !  How  much  more  precious  to  be  a 
friend  of  Jesus  Christ !  a  friend  of  God  !  One  man 
stands  out  upon  the  pages  of  Old  Testament  history 
who  won  that  title,  Abraham  the  friend  of  God.''' 
But  all  who  are  the  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ  and 
show  forth  the  evidence  of  love  by  obedience  are  His 
friends ;  for  He  says,  "  Ye  are  My  friends,  if  ye  do 
whatsoever  I  command  you.  Henceforth  I  call  you 
not  servants."  Literally,  we  may  render  it,  "  No 
longer  (ovKeri,)  do  I  call  you  servants,  that  is  slaves, 
but  I  call  you  friends  (<^tXovs),  that  is  objects  of  My 
love." 

The  disciples  of  Christ,  however,  continued  to  call 
themselves  His  bondslaves.  It  is  S.  Paul's  favourite 
word  to  describe  his  relation  to  Christ,  and  not  only 
S.  Paul,  but  all  alike  retain  this  title.  And  why? 
Because  it  is  included  in  the  higher  title  of  friends. 
Because  they  were  His  friends  they  loved  to  remind 
themselves    and    others    that    friendship    with    Jesus 

*    C/i  2  Chron.  xx.  7  :   Isaiah  xli.  8  ;  S.  James  ii.  23. 
194 


t^c  ifrienbg  of  C^xi&t  ^ 

Christ  depends  upon  absolute  obedience,  upon  the 
whole  service  of  life.  Christ  had  said,  "  Ye  are  My 
friends  if  ye  do  whatsoever  I  command  you."  Hence, 
while  He  also  said,  "  No  longer  do  I  call  you  servants 
but  friends,"  they  went  on  styling  themselves  His 
bondslaves,  and  leaving  it  to  Him  to  designate  them 
by  the  nobler  title  of  friends. 

The  mere  slave  is  an  instrument  only  for  perform- 
ing his  lord's  commands,  but  does  not  aspire  to  any 
knowledge  of  his  lord's  motives  or  purposes.  He 
does  what  he  is  told  without  knowing  the  reason  or 
the  object  of  what  he  does.  But  the  obedience  of 
friends  differs  from  servile  obedience  in  this,  that  it  is 
based  on  love  and  knowledge  and  sympathy.  They 
obeyed  because  they  loved  Christ,  because  they 
knew  Christ,  because  of  their  sympathy  with  His 
work,  and,  as  He  Himself  points  out,  because  He 
took  them  into  His  confidence  and  revealed  to  them 
the  purposes  of  His  work  as  His  Father  had  revealed 
that  work  to  Him.  "  The  servant  knoweth  not  what 
his  lord  doeth  :  but  I  have  called  you  friends  ;  for  all 
things  that  I  have  heard  of  My  Father  I  have  made 
known  unto  you " — not  all  the  mysteries  of  the 
Father's  counsels,  but  all  that  it  was  fitting  that  man 
should  know,  all  that  Christ  as  Man  had  heard  of  the 
divine  purposes.  These  counsels,  for  the  Apostles 
and  for  us,  are  contained  in  the  Divine  Revelation, 

195 


^  Stft^  T^ebnegbag  in  &enf> 

and  our  work  under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
is  so  to  study  them  that  we  may  work  for  God 
intelligently,  not  merely  as  bondslaves  but  as  the 
friends  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Friendship  implies  privileges,  but  it  involves  also 
responsibilities.  It  would  be  difficult  to  exaggerate 
the  privileges  we  have  as  the  friends  of  God — 
the  special  revelations  through  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  regard  to  the  mysteries  of  our  religion  and 
to  the  purposes  of  God  for  us.  But  while  we 
may  dwell  on  these  with  thankfulness  it  may 
perhaps  be  even  more  helpful  to  us  to  consider 
the  responsibilities  which  are  involved  in  this 
relationship  to  Christ. 

The  first  responsibility  is  love,  to  love  Christ 
and  to  manifest  that  love  by  obedience  to  His 
commands,  and  especially  by  such  love  of  the 
brethren  as  He  indicates  when  He  says,  "  Love 
one  another  as  I  have  loved  you."  Of  this  we 
have  already  treated ;  we  will  pass,  therefore,  to 
the  second  condition  demanded  by  friendship — 
loyalty.  We  must  be  loyal  to  Christ  when  others 
are  disloyal,  that  is,  we  must  be  ready  to  confess 
Christ  among  those  who  show  Him  no  allegiance. 
We  must  be  prepared  to  proclaim  ourselves  His 
servants  and  His  friends,  when  to  do  so  will 
bring   upon    us    ridicule    or   even    persecution,   and 

196 


t^c  Snenbg  of  Christ  ^ 

we  must  show  our  loyalty  not  only  with  our  lips 
but  in  our  lives,  not  only  by  proclaiming  by 
words  that  we  are  friends  of  Jesus  Christ,  but 
by  showing  by  our  deeds  our  devotion  to  His 
services,  by  keeping  His  commandments,  even 
when  to  do  so  involves  the  world's  opposition. 

And  lastly,  we  must  remember  that  as  friends 
of  Jesus  Christ  His  interests  must  be  our 
interests.  What  are  the  interests  of  Jesus 
Christ  in  this  world  ?  Perhaps  they  may  be 
most  briefly  summed  up  as  the  interests  of 
His  Church,  especially  in  missionary  enterprise 
at  home  and  abroad.  How  inconsistent  it  is  of 
us  to  claim  the  title,  friends  of  Christ,  when  we 
have  no  interest  in  the  expansion  of  His 
kingdom  upon  earth.  Everything  that  belongs 
to  the  well-being  of  Christ's  Church  ought  to 
be  of  intensest  interest  to  us.  We  should, 
therefore,  read  a  great  deal  about  the  needs 
of  the  Church  at  home  and  abroad.  We  should 
strive  by  all  means  in  our  power  to  spread  this 
information  among  others,  to  interest  others  in 
the  Church's  work,  and  to  ask  ourselves  what  we 
can  do  practically  to  further  the  Church's  work. 

We  should  begin  perhaps  in  our  own  house- 
hold, among  our  own  friends.  Could  we  help 
them   to   know    more   about    the    Church   of  Jesus 

197 


•»?  ^ifi^  nX>ebne0bftg  in  &ent. 

Christ,  to  take  more  interest  in  her  claims  ? 
Then  in  our  own  parish.  What  do  we  know 
of  its  needs?  Are  we  doing  our  best  to  supply 
them  according  to  our  own  ability,  whether  that 
be  great  or  small  ?  Are  more  workers  needed 
in  our  parish,  and  is  there  something  to  be 
done  which  we  could  do?  Then,  further,  the 
claims  of  our  diocese,  and  of  our  own  Com- 
munion. Are  we  really  interested  in  Church  news 
because  the  interests  of  Jesus  Christ  require  that 
we  should  care  for  everything  that  pertains  to 
the  welfare  of  His  kingdom  ?  Do  we  take  as 
much  interest  in  Church  news  as  we  do  in  the 
world's  news,  of  what  is  going  on  in  politics  or 
literature   or  social    life  ? 

Yet  further,  we  are  members  of  the  Church 
Catholic,  and  therefore  ought  to  care  deeply  for 
all  that  affects  the  life  of  the  whole  body  of 
Christians.  We  cannot  work  for  every  Com- 
munion, but  we  can  pray,  and  especially  pray 
that  some  day  all  may  be  one  according  to 
Christ's  own  prayer,  that  divisions  may  be  healed, 
and  misunderstandings  removed,  and  that,  with- 
out any  sacrifice  of  truth,  love  may  prevail  and 
bring  together  those  who  are  now  separated 
though  part  of  the  same  Body  of  Christ. 

Then     there     is     missionary    work    amongst    the 

198 


t^c  Srtenb6  of  C^xxBt  ^ 

heathen.  What  an  immense  interest  of  Jesus 
Christ  this  is.  Millions  there  are  still  to  be 
converted  to  Christianity,  millions  who  know 
nothing  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  of  the 
salvation  He  won  for  all  men,  of  the  means  of 
grace  by  which  man  is  enabled  to  conquer  sin. 

This  is  perhaps  the  largest  demand  which 
friendship  for  Jesus  Christ  makes  upon  us, 
that  we  should  make  His  interests  our 
interests,  the  great  interests  of  our  lives. 
Let  us  examine  how  far  we  have  failed  in 
this  and  strive  by  His  help  to  be  more  faith- 
ful in  our  friendship  for  the  future. 


199 


XXVI. 

fift^  t^nxBU^  in  feenf. 


THE    LAW    OF    VOCATION. 


S.  John  xv.   i6. 

"Ye  have  not  chosen  Me,  but  I  have  chosen  you,  and  ordained 
you,  that  ye  should  go  and  bring  forth  fruit,  and  that  your  fruit  should 
remain  :  that  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  of  the  Father  in  My  Name,  He 
may  give  it  you." 


HIS  section  of  the  fifteenth  chapter  closes 
with  these  wonderful  words  so  full  of  en- 
couragement and  consolation  to  us.  The 
tenses  of  the  verbs  are  aorists,  not  perfects,  there- 
fore it  should  be  rendered,  "  Ye  did  not  choose  Me, 
but  I  chose  you."  The  Apostles  did  not  choose 
Christ  as  their  Master,  He  first  chose  them  as 
His  friends,  and  then  He  ordained  them,  that  is, 
instituted  them  to  a  certain  office  and  work  as  His 
apostles. 

200 


t^c  &(Xro  of  (pocation.  ^ 

In  these  words  we  are  taught  one  of  the  most 
important  lessons  of  Christian  life — the  principle  of 
Vocation.  Every  Christian  who  thinks  seriously 
has  at  some  time  or  other  asked  with  anxiety, 
"  What  is  my  vocation  in  life  ? "  This  is  especially 
a  question  for  the  youn^,  and  yet  how  often  it  is 
either  ignored  or  misunderstood.  Everyone  has  a 
vocation  in  life,  and  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance 
that  each  one  should  strive  first  to  know  what  his 
vocation  is,  and  then  to  walk  worthy  of  it. 

But  what  do  we  mean  by  vocation  ?  A  very  large 
number  of  persons  probably  mean  the  state  of  life 
which  ^kej'  choose  as  their  business  or  profession, 
and  they  choose  it  probably  with  regard  only  to 
worldly  success  or  worldly  enjoyment.  But  surely 
this  is  not  the  meaning  of  vocation.  Vocation  is  a 
state  of  life  to  which  we  are  called  by  God,  not 
one  which  we  choose  for  ourselves.  Of  course  we 
must  realise  that  God  reveals  to  us  our  vocation 
largely  through  His  providence,  that  is,  through  the 
environment  in  which  He  has  placed  us.  Parents' 
wishes,  personal  gifts  and  inclinations,  all  may 
be  legitimate  means  of  finding  out  what  is  God's 
work  for  us,  if  only  we  start  with  the  realisation 
that  we  want  to  find  out  what  is  God's  Will  for  us, 
and  not  merely  to  gratify  our  own  ambitions. 

Surely  this  is  what  we  are  taught  by  our  Lord's 

201 


words  to  His  apostles,  "  Ye  did  not  choose  Me, 
but  I  chose  you,  and  ordained  you " — to  be  My 
apostles.  Very  likely  they  thought  that  in  follow- 
ing Christ  they  had  made  the  choice,  and  so  in  a 
sense  they  had  ;  for  we  can  obey  or  disobey  God's 
call,  and  in  determining  to  obey  we  are  choosing 
God.  But  before  we  can  make  that  determination 
God  must  have  chosen  us,  and  spoken  to  our 
hearts  through  His  preventing  grace,  thus  enabling 
us  to  recognise  His  call,  and  to  obey  it. 

How  few,  even  of  those  who  grow  up  in  Christian 
homes,  are  brought  up  to  consider  vocation  from  this 
point  of  view.  They  are  asked  what  they  would 
like  to  be,  what  they  would  like  to  do,  and  while 
recognising,  as  we  have  done,  that  inclination  is 
often  a  factor  in  deciding  vocation,  yet  prayer  that 
we  may  know  God's  Will  for  us  should  have  the  first 
place,  and  the  end  we  must  have  in  view  in  finding 
out  our  vocation  must  not  be  only  worldly  success 
but  rather  God's  glory.  God  has  a  work  for  me 
to  do,  and  there  is  a  state  of  life  in  which  I  can  best 
do  that  work.  I  must  ask  earnestly  in  prayer  that 
God  will  show  me  what  that  state  of  life  is,  I  must 
not  decide  upon  it  merely  with  a  view  to  worldly 
ambition. 

When  we  have  in  this  way  learnt  what  our 
vocation    is,    wc    must    walk    worthy    of    it,   as    S. 

202 


t^c  &(XW  of  (gocdfton.  ^ 

Paul  exhorts  us,*  and  if  at  times  we  shrink  from 
the  responsibilities  it  involves,  and  are  inclined  to 
say  that  the  work  is  too  great  for  us,  we  have  as 
our  encouragement  these  words,  "  Ye  did  not  choose 
Me,  but  I  chose  you,  and  ordained  you"  to  this  work. 
How  great  is  the  comfort  through  life  of  this  revela- 
tion— if  I  have  sought  guidance  in  regard  to  my  state 
in  life,  I  need  not  afterwards  fear  that  I  have  made  a 
terrible  mistake  and  that  I  am  quite  in  the  wrong 
place.  There  are  many  in  this  condition,  but  pro- 
bably in  most  instances  it  is  because  they  chose  their 
vocation  quite  irrespective  of  God's  guidance.  They 
did  not  seek  from  Him  humbly  and  earnestly  a 
manifestation  of  His  Will,  they  did  not  ask  Him, 
''  Lord,  what  wilt  Thou  have  me  to  do  .? "  They 
only  considered  what  they  wished  to  do,  what  would 
gratify  their  inclinations  or  ambitions  in  life,  and 
so  they  found  out,  when  it  was  too  late,  that  they 
had  made  a  mistake — a  mistake  which  perhaps  could 
not  be  rectified,  and  which  spoilt  their  lives. 

How  different  it  is  with  those  who  have  sought  the 
guidance  of  God  in  the  matter  of  vocation,  and  who 
can  say,  "  I  did  not  choose,  but  God  called  me  to 
this  work,  and  therefore,  because  He  called  me,  He 
will  give  me  the  grace  I  need  to  accomplish  it,  the 
opportunities  which  are  necessary  for  bringing  it  to  a 

*   Cf.  Eph.  iv.  I. 
203 


*9  ftftg  g^urobag  in  &ent. 

successful  issue — successful  in  that  it  will  be  the 
fulfilment  of  God's   Will. 

We  may  observe  that  our  Lord  indicates  four 
consequences  of  His  choice  and  ordination.  He 
says,  "  I  ordained  you,  that  ye  should  go  and  bring 
forth  fruit,  and  that  your  fruit  should  remain  :  that 
whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  of  the  Father  in  My  Name, 
He  may  give  it  to  you." 

First  they  are  to  go.  This  implies  the  taking  up 
of  an  independent  and  definite  work.  They  are  not 
to  drift  about,  as  so  many  do,  without  any  real 
purpose,  any  definite  work  in  life.  There  is  some- 
thing for  each  to  do,  and  they  are  ordained  that  they 
may  go  and  do  it.  If  I  do  not  know  what  my  work 
is  I  ought  to  feel  very  anxious  lest  it  should  be 
my  own  fault  that  I  do  not  know  it,  lest  I  should 
have  shut  my  eyes  to  God's  leading,  closed  my 
ears  to  the  voice  which  would  have  guided  me  to 
the  work  which   God   ordained  for  me. 

Secondly,  they  are  to  bring  forth  fruit.  This  is 
a  most  important  and  precious  revelation.  If  we 
arc  doingf  the  work  which  God  has  called  us  to 
do,  that  work  is  certain  to  be  fruitful.  We  have 
Christ's  own  promise  that  it  shall  be.  People 
often  labour  with  energy  at  a  work  of  their  own 
choosing,  but  it  ends  in  failure  ;  because  God's 
blessing  does  not  rest  upon  it.      But   there  can   be 

204 


tU  &aw  of  (gocafton,  ^ 

no  such  thing  as  failure  to  one  who  is  walking  in 
the  vocation  to  which  God    has   called    him,  doing 
the  work  which  God  has  given    him..      We  have  a 
very  striking  illustration  of  this  in   the   miraculous 
draught   of    fishes   which    preceded    the   call    of    S. 
Peter.      We    read*    that   after   our    Lord    had   been 
teaching   from    S.    Peter's  boat,   He  said    unto   him, 
"  Launch   out    into   the    deep,   and    let    down    your 
nets    for   a   draught.      And    Simon    answering   said 
unto    Him,    Master,   we    have  toiled    all    the  night : 
nevertheless    at    Thy    word    I    will    let    down    the 
net.        And      when      they      had      done      this     they 
inclosed    a    great    multitude    of    fishes:    and    their 
net    brake."      He    had    toiled    all    night    and    had 
taken    nothing,    but    when    he    let    down    his    net 
at    the    command    of    Jesus    Christ,    it    was   filled 
with   fishes.     There  are  many  who  toil   all  through 
the   dark    night    of    this    life    ard    find    at   the   end 
that    they    have    taken    nothing — nothing,   that   is, 
which    will    follow    them    into    the    world    to   come. 
Life    has    been    wasted,   its    opportunities    lost,   its 
true    work    left    undone  ;    because    they   have    been 
working   according   to    their   own  will,    not   accord- 
ing    to     the     will     of     God.       There     are     others 
whose     lives     do     not     seem     to     be     particularly 
successful    from    this    world's    point    of  view,   who 

*   Cf.  S.   Luke  V.    I- 1 1. 
205 


-^  ^ift^  Z^uxBba^  in  &cnt. 

when  their  net  is  drawn  ashore  at  the  last  day 
will   find  it   filled  with   fishes. 

Thirdly,  their  fruit  is  to  remam,  "  that  your 
fruit  should  remain."  There  are  many  men 
whose  names  are  known  all  over  the  world, 
who,  after  years  of  enormous  effort,  have 
amassed  an  immense  amount  of  this  world's 
fruits  in  the  shape  of  wealth  or  popularity  or 
power,  but  when  they  come  to  die  none  of  that 
fruit  will  remain  to  them.  Think  of  the 
millionaire  who  by  his  wealth  one  day  controls 
the  little  world  in  which  he  lives,  the  next  day 
he  dies  and  whose  is  that  wealth  ?  It  is  no 
longer  his,  he  cannot  control  one  penny  of  it. 
He  has  not  taken  it  with  him.  The  fruit  of  all 
his  labours  is  {^one  to  others,  nothing  perhaps 
remains  to  him  except  the  remorse  of  lost 
opportunities,  of  an  ill-spent  life.  But  to  those, 
on  the  other  hand,  whose  work  has  been  done 
for  God,  and  under  His  guidance,  our  Lord 
promises  that  their  fruit  shall  remain.  Their 
works  do  follow  them  into  the  world  beyond,  into 
eternity,  to  be  their  joy  in  God's  kingdom  in 
heaven. 

Lastly,  there  is  the  promise,  "  That  whatsoever 
ye  shall  ask  of  the  Father  in  My  Name,  He 
may   give    it    to    you,"    the   promise    that  in  answer 

206 


t^c  &(Xro  of  QOocdtion. 


^>^ 


to  prayer  through  Christ,  all  that  is  necessary 
for  the  fulfilment  of  vocation  shall  be  given — 
wisdom  to  meet  the  difficulties  of  the  work  to 
which  God  has  called  us,  strength  to  accomplish 
it,  the  grace  of  perseverance  to  the  end.  He 
who  has  called  us  will,  in  answer  to  our  prayers, 
give  us  all  that  we  need  to  enable  us  to  obey 
His   call  and   to  do   His  work. 

We  must  briefly  notice  the  bearing  of  these 
words  upon  the  vocation  of  the  Apostles.  Christ 
assures  them  that  He  chose  them,  and  why  ? 
Surely,  because  He  saw  in  each  a  special  fit- 
ness for  the  apostolate.  The  apostles  were  of 
different  temperaments,  possessing  different  gifts, 
but  each  had  that  which  was  necessary  to  enable 
him  to  fulfil  his  vocation.  One  of  the  twelve 
was  unfaithful  to  his  vocation — Judas  Iscariot — 
but  his  call  was  as  true  a  call  as  was  the 
vocation  of  the  others,  and  from  what  we 
know  of  him,  he  seems  to  have  possessed 
even  greater  natural  gifts  than  his  fellow 
apostles  possessed.  He  was  the  only  Judsean 
among  them ;  the  others  were  all  Galilean 
peasants  and  fishermen.  He  was  probably  the  only 
educated  man,  and  possibly  was  a  man  of  some 
means.  He  may  have  made  greater  sacrifices 
of     this    world's     position     and     goods     than    the 

207 


-^  ^ift^  S^^urebaj  in  SLtnt 

others  made,  when  they  obeyed  Christ's  call 
and  followed  Him  as  their  Master. 

There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  he  was 
not  quite  in  earnest  when  he  took  up  the 
yoke  of  Christ.  He  had  a  besetting  sin,  but 
so  had  all,  and  when  he  enrolled  himself  in  the 
apostolic  band  and  accepted  the  poverty  which 
was  their  lot,  he  doubtless  thought  that  he  would 
be  free  from  temptation  to  his  besetting  sin, 
which  was  covetousness  ;  for  inasmuch  as  following 
Christ  involved  poverty,  he  would  have  little 
temptation  to  covetousness.  But  because  of  his 
administrative  ability  he  was  chosen  to  bear  the 
bag,  to  be  the  almoner  of  the  apostolic  college, 
and  again  had  to  handle  money,  and  to  face  his 
besetting  sin. 

With  a  renewal  of  temptation  we  may  be  sure 
grace  was  given  him  to  enable  him  to  overcome  the 
temptation.  But  he  first  yielded  to  his  besetting 
sin  of  covetousness — he  became  a  thief ;  and  then 
apparently  he  lost  his  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  and 
lived  untrue  to  his  vocation.  So  he  forfeited  by 
his  own  act  the  apostolic  office,  and  another 
S.  Matthias,  was  raised  up  to  do  his  work  and 
to  receive  the  reward,  the  crown  that  would 
have  been  his. 

Judas  is  an   awful  example — not  to    the  godless, 

208 


t^c  &(XKo  of  (goc(Xfton«  ^ 

but  to  religious  people ;  the  example  of  one  who 
had  a  real  call  from  Jesus  Christ,  who  recognised 
his  vocation  and  accepted  it ;  but  because  he 
did  not  walk  worthy  of  it,  because  he  was  not 
faithful  in  persevering  in  it,  he  lost  his  vocation, 
and  with  it   lost   his   soul. 


309 


XXVII. 

f iff^  f ribag  in  £ent. 


THE  WORLD'S    HATRED. 


S.  John  xv.  17-21. 

"  These  things  I  command  you,  that  ye  love  one  another.  If  the 
world  hate  you,  ye  know  that  it  hated  Me  before  it  hated  you.  If  ye 
were  of  the  world,  the  world  would  love  his  own  :  but  because  ye  are 
not  of  the  world,  but  I  have  chosen  you  out  of  the  world,  therefore 
the  world  hateth  you.  Remember  the  word  that  I  said  unto  you, 
The  servant  is  not  greater  than  his  lord.  If  they  have  persecuted  Me, 
they  will  also  persecute  you  :  if  they  have  kept  My  saying,  they  will 
keep  your's  also.  But  all  these  things  will  they  do  unto  you  for  My 
Name's  sake." 

N  the  earlier  part  of  the  fifteenth  chapter 
our  Blessed  Lord  revealed  to  His  disciples, 
under  the  image  of  the  vine  and  its 
branches,  the  vital  union  which  exists  between 
Himself  and  the  soul  of  the  believer,  pointing  out, 
on  the  one  hand,  the  consequences  of  the  severance 

210 


of  this  union,  and  on  the  other  the  blessings  of 
its  continuance.  In  the  former  case  He  draws 
attention  to  the  worthlessness  of  the  branches,  their 
unfruitfulness,  and  their  destruction  by  fire  ;  in  the 
latter  He  warns  of  the  purging  and  pruning 
necessary  that  they  may  bring  forth  more  abundant 
fruit,  and  promises  three  great  privileges  as  the 
result  of  this  union  with  Him — a  special  power  in 
prayer,  and  the  glorious  titles  of  disciples  and 
friends  of  Jesus  Christ.  At  the  seventeenth  verse 
we  are  introduced  to  a  new  section,  which  extends 
to  the  seventh  verse  of  the  next  chapter.  In  this 
section  Christ  tells  of  the  consequences  of  His  friend- 
ship as  manifested  in  the  world's  treatment  of  those 
who  love  Him,  and  are  His  disciples  and  friends. 
He  draws  our  attention  to  the  dark  side  of  the 
picture,  and  shows  that  in  contrast  to  the  joys  and 
glories  and  privileges  which  pertain  to  those  who 
love  Him,  there  will  be  sorrows,  trials,  and 
persecutions,  which  arise  from  the  world's  hatred 
of  Christ  and  His  followers. 

The  seventeenth  verse  is  often  regarded  as 
summing  up  the  last  section,  but  it  really  belongs 
to  the  next,  to  which  it  forms  an  introduction. 
The  antiphon  is  repeated,  "  These  things  I  command 
you,  that  ye  love  one  another,"  and  in  sharpest 
contrast  is  put  the  result  of  obedience,  as  seen  in 

211 


^  f  tf<^  f  ribdg  in  &eni 


the  world's  hatred  of  those  who  love  God  and  love 
one  another. 

"  If  the  world  hate  you,  ye  know  that  it  hated 
Me  before  it  hated  you.  If  ye  were  of  the  world, 
the  world  would  love  his  own  :  but  because  ye  are 
not  of  the  world,  but  I  have  chosen  you  out  of 
the  world,  therefore  the  world  hateth  you."  What 
does  Christ  mean  here  by  the  "  world "  (6  Koafios)  ? 
He  means  humanity  apart  from  grace,  man  apart 
from  Christ,  the  natural  man  as  distinguished  from 
the  supernatural. 

The  world  in  which  we  live  has  its  interests,  its 
ambitions,  its  code  of  morals,  its  loves,  and  its 
hates.  But  our  Blessed  Lord  describes  it  as 
diametrically  opposed  to  Him,  to  His  teaching,  to 
His  works,  and  to  those  who  have  enrolled  them- 
selves as  His  disciples  and  friends.  The  world  can 
love  with  a  certain  sort  of  affection,  for  He  says, 
"If  ye  were  of  the  world,  the  world  would  love 
his  own."  And  the  world  can  hate,  and  it  hates 
those  who  are  not  its  own,  whose  lives  arc  ;i 
continual  reproach  to  it,  and  whose  allegiance  is 
given,  not  to  its  claims,  but  to  Christ.  The  words 
of  Christ  in  this  passage  imply  that  it  is  impossible 
to  belong  to  the  world  and  to  belong  to  Him,  for 
He  says,  "  Because  ye  are  not  of  the  world, 
therefore  the  world  hateth  you." 

212 


He  forewarns  His  disciples  of  the  world's  hate. 
He  points  out  that  it  is  only  what  they  must 
expect,  since  it  is  but  a  repetition  of  the  world's 
treatment  of  their  Master.  He  shows  that  the 
immediate  cause  of  this  hatred  will  be  their 
mutual  love  for  one  another,  because  that  love 
testifies  that  they  belong  to  Him,  and  also  because 
this  love  witnesses  against  the  world's  supreme 
characteristic  of  utter  selfishness,  for  the  world's 
love  is  a  selfish  love.  Our  Lord  says,  "  If  ye  were 
of  the  world,  the  world  would  love  his  own."  If 
ye  were  of  the  world,  deriving  your  life  from  the 
world,  finding  in  its  praises  your  reward,  in  its 
customs  your  enjoyment  and  pleasure,  the  world 
would  recognise  you  as  belonging  to  it,  and  so 
would  love  you — not  with  that  spiritual  love  which 
is  implied  in  the  use  of  the  verb  dyanav,  which 
signifies  a  love  founded  upon  the  worthiness  of 
its  object,  and  upon  an  appreciation  of  the  character 
of  the  one  we  love.  The  word  e<^tXet>  used  of  the 
world's  love,  signifies  natural  love,  the  love  of 
passion. 

"If  ye  were  of  the  world,  the  world  would  love 
his  own,"  and  that  not  because  of  the  worthiness 
of  those  who  belong  to  the  world,  but  often  for  the 
very  opposite  reason,  because  in  everything  they 
accept  the  world's  low   standard,  and  so  fulfil  the 

213 


^  f ift^  fribdg  in  feenf. 

claims  which  the  world  makes  upon  them.  In  the 
clause,  "  the  world  would  love  his  own,"  we  may- 
notice  the  expression  "  his  own "  (r6  tBiov).  It  is 
neuter,  and  signifies  not  a  person,  but  a  quality. 
The  world  does  not  love  them  as  persons,  as 
individuals,  it  only  cares  for  those  qualities  in 
them  which  belong  to  it,  and  especially  that 
quality  of  selfishness,  which  is  the  special 
characteristic  of  worldliness. 

We  may  also  observe  that  the  fivefold  repetition 
of  the  word  "  world "  in  this  passage  brings  into 
very  strong  relief  the  antagonism  that  there  must 
be  between  the  world  and  those  who  love  Christ. 
Christ  goes  on  to  say,  "  Remember  the  word  that 
I  said  unto  you,  The  servant  is  not  greater  than 
his  lord.  If  they  have  persecuted  Me,  they  will 
also  persecute  you :  if  they  have  kept  My  saying, 
they  will  keep  yours  also.  But  all  these  things 
will  they  do  unto  you  for  My  Name's  sake." 
"  Remember  the  word  that  I  said  unto  you."  We 
find  this  saying  also  in  S.  Matthew.*  Persecution, 
we  are  told,  is  to  be  expected.  If  we  are  Christ- 
like we  must  expect  to  suffer  as  Christ  did,  to 
be  treated  as  Christ  was  treated.  If  we  are 
nominal  Christians,  but  not  Christ-like,  the  world 
will  probably  let  us  alone. 

*  S.  Matt.  X.  24. 
214 


e^e  nrorf^B  gatreb. 


£^ 


The  thought  by  which  our  Lord  would  sustain  His 
disciples  under  persecution  is  contained  in  the  utter- 
ance, "  These  things  will  they  do  unto  you  for  My 
Name's  sake."  All  sufferings  which  you  endure  in  the 
world  because  you  are  manifesting  a  Christ-like  life 
are  borne  for  Christ's  sake.  What  a  sustaining 
thought  He  had  said  of  Himself,  "  Greater  love 
hath  no  man  than  this,  that  a  man  lay  down  his 
life  for  his  friends."  Now  He  says  to  them,  If  ye 
love  Me,  ye  must  be  ready  to  suffer  for  Me,  and 
ye  must  recognise  in  your  sufferings  a  glorious 
opportunity  of  showing  your  love.  If  in  our  time 
of  trial  we  keep  this  thought  steadfastly  before  us, 
that  it  is  for  Christ's  sake  that  we  endure  the  trial, 
it  will  rob  our  sufferings  of  all  their  bitterness  and 
transmute  them  into  glorious  privileges.  It  was 
this  thought  which  enabled  the  martyrs  so  gladly 
to  suffer  and  die  for  Christ. 

With  what  transparent  honesty  our  Lord  puts 
before  His  disciples  the  consequences  of  following 
Him — not  only  in  this  passage,  but  again  and 
again  throughout  the  Gospels  does  He  call  upon 
everyone  who  comes  to  Him  to  count  the  cost 
before  they  take  up  His  yoke.  To  the  man  who 
proclaimed,  "  Lord,  I  will  follow  Thee  whithersoever 
Thou  goest,"  He  said,  "Foxes  have  holes,  birds 
of  the   air   have    nests,  but  the   Son  of  Man  hath 

215 


^  S^f^^  Sribdg  in  BLCnt. 


not  where  to  lay  His  head."*  How  many  times, 
too,  He  said  to  His  disciples,  "  If  any  man  will 
come  after  Me,  let  him  deny  himself,  and  take  up 
his  cross  and  follow  Me/'f  And,  "  Whosoever  doth 
not  bear  his  cross,  and  come  after  Me,  cannot  be 
My  disciple."t 

Our  Blessed  Master  will  allow  none  to  enrol  them- 
selves under  His  banner  before  they  realise  what 
His  service  involves  of  suffering  and  self-denial. 
The  reward,  He  tells  them,  is  the  greatest  that 
the  human  heart  can  conceive  of,  but  the  journey 
to  be  traversed  before  the  reward  is  won  is  by  a 
narrow  and  strait  and  difficult  path.  Opposition 
must  be  encountered  and  persecution  endured. 
They  will  go  forth  as  disciples  of  love,  and  they 
will  meet  in  return  only  hate.  The  world  will  hate 
them  because  they  love  Christ,  and  love  one 
another. 

Christ  says,  "  Remember  the  word  that  I  said 
unto  you."  It  ought  to  be  a  very  real  help  to  us 
in  time  of  trouble  to  remember  that  our  Master 
warned  us  to  expect  trial.  S.  Paul  says,  "  There 
hath  no  temptation  taken  you  but  such  as  is 
common  to  man  :  but  God  is  faithful,  Who  ^jjill 
not  suffer  you  to  be  tempted  above  that  ye  are 
able  ;  but  will  with  the  temptation  make  the  way  to 

*   S.  Luke  xix.  57,  58.      t  S.  Mult.  xvi.  J4.      %   ^'  ^-i''^^'  '^'^■-  -7- 

216 


escape,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  bear  it."*  Trial, 
testing,  is  common  to  all  men,  necessary  for  all, 
and  especially  for  the  Christian,  but  with  the  trial 
God  will  always  send  the  way  of  escape,  the  means 
of  grace  by  using  which  we  may  be  able — not  to 
get  rid  of  the  temptation,  but  to  bear  it ;  for  it  is 
by  endurance  of  temptation  that  we  win  the  crown 
of  life.f 

The  hatred  of  the  world  of  which  Christ  forewarns 
His  disciples  was  very  definite  in  its  manifestation, 
for  we  read  of  it  first  as  shown  by  the  Jews,  and 
then  after  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  we  find  it  in  the 
various  persecutions  of  Christians  under  the  Roman 
Empire.  Now  the  world  has  lost  some  of  its  powers 
of  persecution,  but  it  has  not  lost  its  hatred  of  all 
who  are  Christ's.  The  form  of  its  manifestation 
is  more  civilised,  but  the  spirit  is  the  same. 

*   I  Cor.  X,  13.  -f   Cf.  S.  James  i.  12  ;  2  Timothy  iv.  8. 


217 


XXVIII. 


THE  WORLD'S   IGNORANCE. 


S.  John  xv.  21-25. 

"  But  all  these  things  will  they  do  unto  you  for  My  Name's  sake, 
because  they  know  not  Him  that  sent  Me.  If  I  had  not  come  and 
spoken  unto  them,  they  had  not  had  sin  :  but  now  they  have  no  cloke 
for  their  sin.  He  that  hateth  Me  hateth  My  Father  also.  If  I  had 
not  done  among  them  the  works  which  none  other  man  did,  they  had 
not  had  sin  :  but  now  have  they  both  seen  and  hated  both  Me  and  My 
Father.  But  this  cometh  to  pass,  that  the  word  might  be  fullilled 
that  is  written  in  their  law,  They  hated  me  witliout  a  cause." 


E  have  seen  that  tlie  immediate  cause 
of  the  world's  hatred  is  the  spirit  of 
love  manifested  in  a  Christ-like  life, 
but  our  Lord  also  ascribes  this  hatred  to  another 
cause — ignorance,  "because  they  know  not  Him 
that  'sent    Me."     All   sin   may    be   ultimately   traced 

218 


t^c  TJJorfb'B  3gnorance. 


i)c- 


to  ignorance,  as  our  Lord  shows  us,  when  He 
prays  for  His  murderers,  saying,  "  Father,  forgive 
them,  for  they  know  not  what  they  do."* 
Ignorance  with  regard  to  the  intellect  and  per- 
version of  the  will  are  the  two  causes  of  sin, 
though  ignorance  is  the  primary  cause. 

Christ,  when  weeping  over  Jerusalem,  said,  "  If 
thou  hadst  known,  even  thou,  at  least  in  this 
thy  day,  the  things  which  belong  unto  thy 
peace !    but    now    they    are    hid    from    thine    eyes 

because    thou    knewest     not    the    time    of 

thy  visitation."!  Here  He  traces  their  rejection 
of  His  love  to  ignorance.  On  another  occasion 
He  said,  "  O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  thou  that 
killest  the  prophets,  and  stonest  them  which  are 
sent  unto  thee,  how  often  would  I  have  gathered 
thy  children  together,  even  as  a  hen  gathereth 
her  chickens  under  her  wings,  and  ye  would 
notrx  In  this  passage  He  points  out  that 
perversion  of  will  prevented  them  from  listening 
to  His  pleading  with  them. 

However,  to  confine  ourselves  to  the  passage 
under  our  consideration,  we  shall  observe  that 
Christ  very  distinctly  traces  the  cause  of  the 
world's  hatred  and  rejection  of  Him  to  ignorance. 

*   S.  Luke  xxiii.  34.  f   Cf.  S.  Luke  xix.  41-44. 

X  S.  !Matt..  xxiii.  t^*]. 

219 


"  They  know  not  Him  that  sent  Me."  The  Jews 
of  our  Lord's  day  knew  a  great  deal  about  God 
and  His  revelation  to  men.  It  was  an  intensely 
religious  age.  The  leaders  of  the  nation  held 
their  positions  by  virtue  of  their  religious 
profession.  They  were :  Pharisees  or  Sadducees, 
Scribes,  Elders  or  Priests ;  and  all  these  titles 
told  either  of  their  religious  views  or  of  their 
religious  occupation. 

The  services  of  the  Temple  had  probably 
never  been  performed  with  greater  splendour, 
and  the  Temple  itself  as  restored  by  Herod 
had  attained  to  its  greatest  magnificence.  Then 
the  study  of  the  letter  of  Holy  Scripture  was 
pursued  with  painstaking  industry  and  passionate 
devotion.  It  had  reached  its  highest  development ; 
there  were  volumes  of  traditional  comments  on 
the  letter  of  Holy  Scripture,  but  the  spirit,  alas, 
was  neglected  or  forgotten. 

The  Jews  then  knew  about  God,  about  the 
Father  Who  had  sent  Christ,  but  they  did  not 
know  Him,  they  did  not  apprehend  His  character, 
His  attributes  of  love  and  mercy  and  truth.  The 
ignorance  to  which  our  Lord  refers  was  not  a 
theological  but  a  moral  ignorance.  Theology  was 
recognised  as  the  very  queen  of  sciences  in  those 
day,   but,  alas,    it    was  divorced    from   practical   life. 

220 


€U  T37orfb*6  35ttorance. 


H- 


The  positive  enactments  of  Holy  Scripture  in 
regard  to  tithing,  mint  and  anise  and  cummin* 
were  strictly  observed,  and  the  ritual  law  in 
regard  to  the  washing  of  pots  and  cups  was 
rigidly  enforced,  but  the  weightier  matters  of  the 
law,  righteousness  and  truth  and  mercy,  were 
sadly  overlooked. 

"  If  I  had  not  come  and  spoken   unto  them,  they 
had    not     had    sin  :    but   now    they  have    no   cloke 

for   their    sin If   I    had    not    done    among 

them  the  works  which  none  other  man  did,  they 
had  not  had  sin,  but  now  they  have  both  seen 
and  hated  both  Me  and  My  Father."  The 
complete  parallelism  of  these  two  verses  is  very 
striking.  "  If  I  had  not  come  and  spoken  unto 
them,  they  had  not  had  sin."  "  If  I  had  not 
done  among  them  the  works  which  none  other 
man  did,  they  had  not  had  sin."  In  the  first  our 
Lord  points  to  His  teachings  as  a  testimony  to  His 
Person  and  mission,  in  the  second  He  points  to  His 
works  ;  and  He  shows  that  if  the  ignorance  of  those 
who  persecuted  Him  had  been  the  ignorance  of  those 
who  had  never  come  in  contact  with  truth,  it 
would  have  been  excusable,  but  that  it  was  ignorance 
persevered  in  in  spite  of  the  evidence  of  Christ's 
teachings  and  of  His  miracles  and   works  of  mercy. 

*   S.  Matt,  xxiii.  23. 
221 


-o^  Stft^  ^gfutbag  in  &enf. 

Their  ignorance  was  wilful  ignorance,  and  there- 
fore it  was  sin,  and  sin  which  had  no  cloke,  that 
is,  no  excuse.  They  had  abundant  evidence  of  the 
truth  of  Christ's  claims,  they  even  investigated  some 
of  the  evidence,  as  in  the  case  of  the  man  born 
blind,"  but  though  they  were  constrained  to  admit 
the  facts,  they  absolutely  refused  to  acknowledge 
the  inference  which  the  facts  suggested.  "  They 
wondered  at  the  gracious  words  which  proceeded 
out  of  the  mouth  of  Christ, "-(•  but  they  rejected  His 
teachings.  .  They  could  not  deny  His  many  miracles 
of  healing  the  sick  and  raising  the  dead,  but  they 
refused  to  acknowledge  that  He  came  from  God. 
They  shut  their  eyes  to  the  truth  ;  they  hated  it,  and 
as  Christ  says,  in  hating  it,  hated  both  Himself  and 
His  Father. 

This  was  the  result  of  their  sin,  and  their  sin  was 
the  result  of  wilful  ignorance.  Darkness  hates  light, 
it  cannot  endure  it,  because  light  disperses  and 
destroys  darkness.  Sin  hates  goodness,  because 
goodness  is  a  constant  reproach  to  the  sinner.  Error 
hates  truth,  because  error  is  of  the  Evil  One  and 
truth  is  of  God.  How  clearly  our  Lord  points  out 
the  difference  between  ignorance  which  is  a  mis- 
fortune, and  that  ignorance  which  is  wilful,  and 
therefore  without  excuse,  we  see  this  when  He  pleads 

*    Cy.  S.  John  ix.  13-34.  t   O^  ^-  Luke  iv.  22. 

222 


for  His  murderers,  saying,  "  They  know  not  what 
they  do." 

Then  again,  Christ  points  to  the  warnings  of  the 
prophets.  Their  own  Scriptures  not  only  prophesied 
of  the  coming  of  the  Messiah,  but  of  His  rejection, 
and  of  the  hatred  with  which  He  would  be  met. 
"  But  this  Cometh  to  pass,  that  the  word  might  be 
fulfilled  which  is  written  in  their  law.  They  hated 
Me  without  a  cause."  The  Jews  had  everything  :  the 
evidence  of  our  Lord's  words  and  of  His  miraculous 
works ;  they  had  also  the  witness  of  their  own 
Scriptures,  but  they  would  not  believe,  and  therefore 
He  holds  them  responsible  for  their  unbelief 

There  are  many  lessons  which  we  may  learn  from 
this  passage.  What  do  we  love  ?  Light  or  darkness, 
goodness  or  evil,  error  or  truth  ?  Are  we  content 
with  the  theological  knowledge  of  Christ,  or  do  we 
strive  to  know  Him  as  our  Master  and  our  Friend  ? 
Some  may  say,  "  How  can  I  know  whether  I  am 
right,  whether  what  I  believe  is  truth  } "  The 
answer  is  not  so  difficult  as  it  seems.  We  can 
know  by  the  guiding  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  Who  is 
the  Spirit  of  Truth,  and  of  Whom  our  Lord  tells 
us  that  He  shall  guide  the  Church  into  all  truth. 
There  are  many  theological  opinions  about  which 
there  may  be  different  views,  but  the  essential  truth 
into  which  the  Holy  Ghost  has  guided  the  Church 

223 


§0^  iS^ft^  ^dtutbag  in  &enf. 

can  without  much  difficulty  be  recognised  because 
it  is  held  and  taught  by  every  part  of  the  Church. 

That  parts  of  the  Church  may  err  in  regard  to 
theological  opinion,  is  not  inconsistent  with  God's 
promise.  It  is  impossible  that  the  whole  Church 
can  be  led  astray ;  so  that  wherever  we  find  a  truth 
taught  by  every  part  of  the  Church  we  may  be 
sure  of  its  authority  ;  and  we  shall  find  upon 
investigation  that  this  includes  all  essential  truth, 
that  the  matters  of  theological  speculation  upon 
which  different  communions  in  the  Church  disagree 
do  not  touch  the  vital  truths  of  the  Christian  creed. 

We  must  pray  to  be  delivered  from  prejudice, 
and,  claiming  Christ's  promise,  we  must  ask  the 
Holy  Ghost  to  guide  us  into  all  truth,  and  to  this 
end  diligently  study  that  truth  which  comes  to  us 
with  the  authority  of  the  Holy  Catholic  Church. 


224 


XXIX. 

^ift^  (Ittonbag  in  &cnt 


THE   ADVOCATE   AS   CHRIST'S  WITNESS. 


S.  John  xv.  26,  27. 

"  But  when  the  Comforter  is  come,  Whom  I  will  send  unto  you 
from  the  Father,  even  the  Spirit  of  truth,  Which  proceedeth  from 
the  Father,  He  shall  testify  of  Me  :  And  ye  also  shall  bear  witness, 
because  ye  have  been  with  Me  from  the  beginning." 

EFORE  we  proceed  to  a  consideration  of 
the  special  teaching  of  this  passage — that 
the  Comforter  or  Advocate  is  to  bear 
witness  to  Christ — it  will  be  well  to  examine 
carefully  its  theological  bearing  upon  the  doctrine 
of  the  Holy  Ghost.  We  must  first  notice  the 
emphatic  use  in  the  Greek  of  the  personal  pronouns, 
that  they  are  not  contained  in  the  verb,  but  that  a 
separate  personal  pronoun  is  employed  in  referring 
both  to  Christ  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost. 

225  Q 


-^  ^iftf^  (fflonbgg  in  &enf. 

In  the  clause,  "  When  the  Comforter  is  come 
Whom  I  will  send  unto  you  from  the  Father,"  our 
Lord  uses  the  emphatic  "  I "  (Eyf^),  and  its  use 
involves  a  claim  to  divine  power,  to  equality  with 
the  Father.  For  in  a  previous  passage  relating  to 
the  Holy  Ghost  Christ  had  said,  "  Whom  the  Father 
will  send  in  My  Name."*  Now  He  says  emphatically, 
"  Whom  /  will  send,"  claiming  to  do  that  which  He 
had  before  ascribed  to  the  Father. 

Again,  in  the  clause  "  He  shall  testify  of  Me," 
the  personal  pronoun  (cWvor)  which  is  rendered  "He" 
is  masculine,  but  in  the  Greek  the  word  for  Spirit 
(nvlviia)  is  neuter,  so  that  the  concord  in  gender, 
between  the  pronoun  and  the  noun  to  which  it 
refers,  is  violated  in  order  to  bring  out  clearly  the 
personality  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

We  must  further  notice  the  expression  "which 
proceedeth  from  the  Father."  It  will  carry  our 
thoughts  at  once  to  the  article  of  our  Creed  con- 
cerning the  Holy  Ghost — "  Who  proceedeth  from 
the  Father  and  the  Son  ; "  an  article  of  faith  which, 
in  its  wording  rather  than  its  essential  doctrine, 
separates  the  Eastern  Church  from  the  rest  of 
Christendom. 

The  Holy  Spirit  proceeds  eternally  from  the 
Father  and   the  Son,  not  as   from   two  origins,   but 

*  S.  John  xiv.  26. 
226 


as  from  one,  not  by  two  spirations,  but  by  one 
spiration.  He  proceeds,  therefore,  by  an  act  of  the 
will ;  and  as  we  have  no  name  for  this  procession 
suggested  by  what  occurs  in  man,  and  as  the  act  of 
intellect  by  which  the  Father  generates  the  Son  is 
virtually  distinct  from  the  act  of  will  by  which  the 
Father  with  the  Son  breathes  forth  the  Holy  Spirit, 
the  general  word  "  spiration  "  (breathing)  is  used  for 
this  procession  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Since  the  Holy 
Ghost  (like  the  Son)  is  not  distinct  in  essence  from 
the  Father  from  Whom  He  proceeds,  this  procession 
is  called  "  immanent  procession,"  for  in  Theology  the 
word  procession  signifies  the  origination  of  one  thing 
from  another,  but  where  the  thing  originated  is  not 
really  distinct  in  essence  from  the  principle  which 
originated  it,  the  procession  is  termed  "  immanent 
procession." 

The  Holy  Spirit  proceeds  from  the  Father  onljy 
as  the  Source,  Fountain,  or  Beginning.  He  is  the 
eternal  love  of  the  Father  and  the  Son  mutually 
breathed  forth  by  them,  and  is,  as  it  were,  the  bond 
of  union  in  the  Eternal  Trinity. 

In    the    Creed,    as    set    forth    by    the    Council    of 
Chalcedon,  A.D.  451,  the    article   to  which  we  have 
referred  reads,  "  Who  proceedeth  from  the  Father  ;  " 
the  words,  **  and  the  Son,"  having  been  added   later 
and    without   conciliar   authority.      Hence  they  are 

227 


•»§  f ift3  (fflonbag  in  feent. 

rejected  by  the  Eastern  Church,  which  accuses  the 
West  of  having;  altered  the  Creed  by  interpolating 
these  words.  The  point  of  agreement  in  regard  to 
the  doctrine  of  the  procession  is  that  both  Churches 
hold  that  the  Holy  Ghost  proceeds  from  the  Father 
only  as  from  the  Source,  Fountain,  or  Beginning,  but 
that  He  proceeds  through  or  by  the  Son. 

Althougli  the  words  "  from  the  Son  "  crept  into 
the  Creed  without  adequate  authority,  the  West 
cannot  surrender  them,  now  that  they  have  become 
part  of  her  recognised  theology,  without  seeming  to 
throw  doubt  upon  the  doctrine  which  they  teach — 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  proceeds  from  the  Father  and 
Son  by  mutual  spiration,  though  from  the  Father 
only  as  the  Source.  But  in  its  explanation  of  the 
manner  of  this  procession  the  Western  Theologians 
entirely  accept  the  language  of  the  Greek  Fathers, 
that  the  Holy  Ghost  proceeds  from  the  Father, 
through  or  by  the  Son,  the  difference  therefore  is 
one  rather  of  words  than  of  faith. 

We  may  further  point  out  that  there  are  two 
Missions  of  the  Holy  Ghost — His  eternal  Mission 
by  which  He  proceeds  from  the  Father  and  the  Son 
in  the  eternal  life  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  and  His 
temporal  Mission  by  which  He  proceeds  from  the 
Father  and  the  Son  to  accomplish  His  work  in  the 
world.     The   question    may    be    asked    to   which    of 

228 


these  processions  is  our  Lord  referring  in  the  passage 
under  our  consideration.  "The  Comforter  .  .  . 
Whom  I  will  send  unto  you  from  the  Father,  even 
the  Spirit  of  Truth,  Which  proceedeth  from  the 
Father."  There  seems  no  doubt  that  Christ  is 
referring  to  the  temporal  mission  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
This  is  evident,  first  from  the  purpose  of  His  Mission 
— to  testify  unto  Christ  in  the  world — and  then  also 
from  the  pronoun  used  in  the  phrase  "  from  the 
Father"  (Trapd).  This  pronoun  signifies  from  the 
side   of   a    person,  not   like   dTro,    from    a   source. 

With  this  explanation  let  us  pass  on  to  the  con- 
sideration of  the  special  function  in  the  temporal 
Mission  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  which  our  Lord  draws 
attention — the  work  of  witnessing  to  Christ.  If  we 
compare  the  twenty-sixth  verse  with  that  which 
precedes  it,  we  shall  see  that  the  witness  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  contrasted  with  the  hatred  of  the  world, 
which  is  the  main  subject  of  this  section  of  our 
Lord's  discourse. 

Christ  had  traced  this  hatred  to  ignorance  of  the 
Father.*  He  had  further  showm  that  this  ignorance 
was  inexcusable,  because  the  Jews  had  the  testimony 
of  their  own  Scriptures  and  prophets,  which  bore 
witness  to  the  Messiah.  These  Scriptures  and 
prophecies   He  had   Himself  so  fulfilled  as  to  leave 

*   C/.  ver.  21. 
229 


-^  f tft^  ^ottbAg  in  &eni 

no  doubt  in  the  mind  of  an  unprejudiced  Jew  that 
He  was  the  Messiah. 

He  now  goes  on  to  show  that  in  the  future  the 
world  should  be  still  more  without  excuse,  because 
the  Holy  Ghost  should  testify  unto  Him,  which  He 
has  done  through  the  marvellous  works  wrought  in  the 
Christian  Church  by  His  power.  Not  only  did  the 
miracles  worked  by  the  Apostles  after  the  Day  of 
Pentecost,  through  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
bear  witness  to  Him,  but  the  world  has  before  it 
a  constant  miracle  in  the  existence  of  the  Church 
of  Christ  as  a  perpetual  testimony  to  the  truth  of 
His  teachings  and  to  the  divinity  of  His  Person. 
This  testimony  is  not  confined  to  the  apostolic  age, 
but  in  its  fullest  application  is  to  be  taken  of  the 
interpretation  of  Christ's  life  and  work  as  given  by 
the  Holy  Ghost  through  the  teachings  of  the 
Church. 

Not  only  was  the  Holy  Ghost  to  bear  this  witness 
unto  the  world,  but  they  themselves  were  also  to 
bear  witness.  That  is,  they  were  to  testify  to  what 
they  had  seen  and  heard  without  them — to  the 
objective  facts  of  the  life  and  teachings  of  their 
Master.  And  they  were  also  to  testify  to  that 
which  they  had  experienced  within  them — to  the 
subjective  experiences  of  their  own  soul's  life. 

The  passage  further  points  out  their  fitness  to  bear 

230 


this  testimony  because  they  had  been  with  Christ 
from  the  beginning,  and  so  were  peculiarly  com- 
petent to  give  evidence  of  all  that  He  had  said 
and  done  in  His  historic  life  on  earth.  This 
injunction  is  repeated  by  our  Lord  just  before  His 
Ascension  into  Heaven,  when  He  says  to  them, 
"Ye  shall  receive  power  after  that  the  Holy  Ghost 
is  come  upon  you,  and  ye  shall  be  witnesses  unto 
Me  both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judaea,  and  in 
Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth."* 

This  command  is  handed  on  by  the  Apostles  to 
us,  and  no  duty  can  be  more  binding  on  us  than  that 
of  bearing  witness  to  the  world  of  the  truth  of  Chris- 
tianity ;  but  the  witness  which  we  can  bear  is  not  so 
much  to  the  objective  facts  of  our  Lord's  life,  as  to 
its  subjective  power  manifested  in  our  own  lives, 
enabling  us  to  show  forth  in  a  world,  which  hates 
the  light  and  loves  darkness,  the  brightness  of  a 
Christ-like  life. 

Our  Blessed  Lord  in  giving  this  command  to  His 
Apostles  knew  that  it  would  be  the  most  convincing 
evidence  of  the  truth  of  His  claims,  that  it  would  be 
the  force  by  which  the  world  should  be  won  to  Him. 
The  evidence  of  the  Apostles  alone  would  have  been 
powerless,  but  they  were  to  bear  witness  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  witness  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     So  it  is 

*  Acts  i.  8. 
231 


-9$  ftft^  (fflonbag  in  feeni 

now.  It  is  not  by  the  eloquence  of  preaching,  nor 
the  cogency  of  argument,  it  is  not  by  the  brilliancy 
of  our  learning  or  the  attraction  of  worldly  success 
that  we  are  to  win  souls  to  Christ,  but  by  the  simple 
testimon}^  of  Christian  lives  lived  under  the  guidance 
of  the  Holy  Ghost. 


232 


XXX. 

Stft^  2;ue6b<xj  in  SLtnt 


PERSECUTION  THE   RESULT  OF  THE 
WORLD'S  HATRED. 


S.  John  xvi.   1-4. 

"These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  that  ye  should  not  be 
offended.  They  shall  put  you  out  of  the  synagogues  ;  yea,  the  time 
Cometh,  that  whosoever  killeth  you  will  think  that  he  doeth  God 
service.  And  these  things  will  they  do  unto  you,  because  they  have 
not  known  the  Father,  nor  Me.  But  these  things  have  I  told  you, 
that  when  the  time  shall  come,  ye  may  remember  that  I  told  you  of 
them." 

T  this  point  we  have  a  division  of  chapters, 
but  there  is  no  break  in  the  discourse,  for 
the  first  six  verses  of  the  sixteenth  chapter 
belong  to  the  section  we  have  been  considering — 
the  section  in  which  our  Lord  treats  of  the  hatred 
of  the  world  towards  those  who  are  united  to  Him, 
and  are  living  with  His  Life,  as  the  branches  are 
united    and    live   with   the   life   of  the  vine.     Christ 

233 


•^^^  Stft^  ^uefibdg  in  £enf. 

has  shown  that  the  hatred  of  the  world  proceeds 
from  ignorance  of  God,  but  that  this  ignorance  is 
rendered  inexcusable  in  the  case  of  the  Jews  by 
the  testimony  of  their  own  scriptures,  and  in  that 
of  the  world  at  large,  by  the  testimony  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  in  the  Church  of  Christ. 

He  now  proceeds  to  foretell  the  issue  of  this 
hatred  in  persecution,  which  shall  take  the  form, 
first,  of  excommunication,  and  shall  then  manifest 
itself  in  an  attempt  to  extirpate  His  teaching  by 
personal  violence  towards  His  followers,  ending  in 
the  crime  of  murder  on  the  part  of  their  persecutors, 
and  in  the  glories  of  martyrdom  for  those  who  are 
faithful  to  Him.  Christ  further  shows  that  in  its 
blindness  the  world  shall  hide  its  crime  by  the 
assumption  of  religious  zeal,  and  shall  think  that  in 
taking  the  lives  of  God's  servants  they  are  offering 
Him  religious  service. 

These  things  Christ  foretells  in  order  that,  when 
they  come  to  pass,  the  Apostles  may  not  be  offended. 
While  this  is  the  only  passage  in  S.  John's  Gospel 
in  which  the  word  "  offended "  is  used,  it  occurs 
frequently  in  the  synoptists,  and  it  may  be  well, 
therefore,  to  examine  its  exact  significance.  The 
Greek  word  (o-KaudaXa)  of  which  this  is  a  Latinised 
equivalent,  is  derived  from  a  noun  which  signified 
originally    the    spring    or    trigger    of     a     trap    for 

234 


(gemfi  of  iU  ^orfb^g  ^afreb.  ^ 

catching  birds.  Then  it  came  to  be  appHed  to  an 
obstacle  put  in  a  person's  way  to  cause  him  to 
stumble  or  fall,  so  that,  in  this  sense,  a  stumbling- 
block  would  be  a  good  rendering  of  the  word. 
In  our  verb  "  to  scandalise "  we  have  the  actual 
Greek  word  used  metaphorically,  in  somewhat  the 
same  sense  as  the  word  "  offend  "  is  here  employed. 

Our  Lord  further  reveals  that  His  purpose  in 
foretelling  the  persecutions  which  await  them  is  to 
forewarn  them,  lest  they  should  stumble  or  fall 
when  they  actually  occur.  To  be  forewarned  is 
to  be  forearmed  ;  and  nothing  is  more  striking  in 
the  Gospels  than  the  frequency  and  distinctness 
with  which  Christ  forewarns  His  Apostles  that  those 
who  follow  Him  must  expect  persecution,  that  they 
cannot  be  His  disciples  without  taking  up  the  cross 
of  suffering.  In  this  passage  He  tells  them  that 
one  form  of  suffering  will  be  persecution,  caused 
by  the  hatred  of  the  world  towards  all  who  show 
themselves  to  be  His  disciples  by  following  in  the 
steps  of  His  life.  Let  us  examine  this  revelation 
a  little  more  in  detail. 

The  form  which  persecution  was  first  to  take, 
our  Lord  tells  them,  would  be  excommunication — 
*'  They  shall  put  you  out  of  the  synagogues."  We 
know  that  this  decision  was  reached  by  the  Jewish 
Church  after  the  miracle  of  the  healing  of  the  blind 

235 


'^^  :S'tft^  €ncBb(X^  in  SLcni. 

man  recorded  in  S.  John  ix.,  where  we  read,  "  The 
Jews  had  agreed  already,  that  if  any  man  did  confess 
that  he  was  Christ,  he  should  be  put  out  of  the 
synagogue."*  And  later  we  are  told  "  they  cast 
Him  out,"  or  excommunicated  Him.t 

Christ  tells  them,  however,  that  persecution  shall 
not  stop  at  excommunication,  that  the  time  shall 
come  when  "whosoever  killeth  you  will  think  that 
he  doeth  God  service."  Here  our  Lord  not  only 
foretells  that  martyrdom  awaits  them,  but  reveals 
to  them  the  motives  by  which  their  adversaries 
shall  seek  to  justify  their  cruelty;  for  He  points 
out  that  the  excuse  will  be  religious  zeal,  that  they 
shall  think  that  they  are  doing  God  service  in 
putting  you  to  death.  And  we  may  notice  that  the 
word  translated  "  service "  (Xarpemj/)  signifies  the 
highest  act  of  religious  worship — the  worship  which 
is  due  to  God  alone. 

This  prophecy  has  been  fulfilled  again  and  again 
in  the  history  of  the  Church.  For  not  only  were 
our  Lord's  disciples  persecuted  by  the  Jews,  and, 
as  in  the  case  of  S.  Stephen,  S.  James,  and  others, 
put  to  death  by  them  ;  but  they  were  persecuted 
by  the  Roman  Emperors  throughout  three  centuries, 
when  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  became  the  seed 
of  the  Church. 

*  S.  John  ix.  22.  f  S.  John  v.  34. 

236 


(gtend  of  fge  ^orfb'B  j^afreb.  ^ 

This,  however,  does  not  exhaust  the  prophecy, 
for  Christians,  alas,  have  put  their  fellow-Christians 
to  death  in  vain  attempts  to  extirpate  what  they 
deemed  to  be  heresy,  and  have  excused  their 
cruelty  by  ascribing  it  to  religious  zeal.  They 
thought  that  they  were  doing  God  service.  Such 
was  certainly  the  feeling  of  Mary,  Queen  of  England, 
as  she  reluctantly  signed  the  death-warrants  pre- 
sented to  her  by  her  ecclesiastical  advisers,  who 
thus  attempted  to  stamp  out  rebellion  against 
Romanism.  Possibly  the  same  excuse  may  have 
been  made  by  her  successor,  Elizabeth,  for  the  far 
greater  number  of  persons  put  to  death  in  her  reign 
for  their  religious  convictions.  Such,  doubtless,  was 
the  motive  which  led  to  the  establishment  of  the 
Inquisition,  whose  cruelties,  while  they  shock  a 
more  refined  age,  were  undoubtedly  in  the  first 
instance  the  outcome  of  religious  zeal  against 
heresy. 

"  All  these  things  will  they  do  unto  you,  because 
they  have  not  known  the  Father,  nor  Me."  We 
may  observe  how  emphatically  our  Blessed  Lord 
traces  the  real  cause  of  these  cruelties  to  ignorance 
of  the  character  of  God — "  They  have  not  known 
the  Father,  nor  Me ; "  and  this  ignorance  is  in 
Christians  absolutely  inexcusable.  The  heathen 
who  does  these  things  because  he  knows  not  God, 

237 


^  fift^  gueebdg  ttt  &enl 

can  plead  ignorance  as  an  excuse,  but  the  Christian 
who  does  them  is  inexcusable.  For  while  he  knows 
a  great  deal  about  God  and  God's  revelation,  he 
cannot  know  God  Himself ;  for  God  is  Love,  and 
it  is  inconceivable  that  a  God,  Whose  character  is 
love,  could  justify  cruelty,  even  for  the  purpose 
of  enforcing  orthodoxy. 

Truth,  to  be  of  any  value  to  a  man,  must  be 
the  result  of  intellectual  or  moral  conviction,  not 
of  physical  compulsion.  To  enforce  a  verbal  accept- 
ance of  theological  dogmas  by  threats  of  physical 
pain  or  death,  can  never  result  in  either  intellectual 
or  moral  conviction.  At  most  it  can  but  convert 
a  heretic  into  a  hypocrite,  and  that  at  the  cost 
of  employing  measures  which  must  always  be 
abhorrent  to  a  God  of  Love. 


238 


XXXI. 

^ixt^  T3?ebne6bag  in  SLCnt 


THE    EXPEDIENCY   OF    UNPLEASANT 
TRUTHS. 


S.  John  xvi.  4-7. 

"But  these  things  have  I  told  you,  that  when  the  time  shall  come, 
ye  may  remember  that  I  told  you  of  them.  And  these  things  I  said 
not  unto  you  at  the  beginning,  because  I  was  with  you.  But  now  I 
go  My  way  to  Him  that  sent  Me ;  and  none  of  you  asketh  Me, 
Whither  goest  Thou  ?  But  because  I  have  said  these  things  unto 
you,  sorrow  hath  filled  your  heart.  Nevertheless  I  tell  you  the  truth  ; 
It  is  expedient  for  you  that  I  go  away." 

UT  these  things  have  I  told  you,  that  when 
the  time  shall  come,  ye  may  remember 
that  I  told  you  of  them."  These  are 
important  words  ;  for  they  are  applicable  not  only  to 
the  Apostles  themselves  in  the  troubles  which  were 
coming  upon  them,  but  to  Christians  of  all  ages, 
even  to  ourselves  in  the  difficulties  of  life.  For  in 
the  trials  and  temptations  which  come  to  us  in  our 

239 


^  ^irt^  ^ctncBbaT^  in  feent. 

efforts  to  serve  God  and  to  keep  His  commandments, 
which  come  to  us  often  just  because  we  are  striving 
to  be  faithful  to  His  precepts,  we  shall  find  strength 
and  help  in  the  thought  that  our  Lord  warned  us 
that  we  must  expect  just  such  difficulties,  that  He 
told  us  clearly  that  all  who  followed  Him  would  be 
treated  by  the  world  as  He  was  treated,  that  He 
called  upon  us  to  count  the  cost  before  we  enrolled 
ourselves  in  His  service,  and  to  remember,  when 
trial  or  suffering  befell  us,  that  He  had  warned  us 
that  this  would  be  our  lot. 

S.  Peter  takes  up  and  enforces  this  teaching  when 
he  says,  "  Beloved,  think  it  not  strange  concerning 
the  fiery  trial  which  is  to  try  you,  as  though  some 
strange  thing  happened  unto  you :  But  rejoice, 
inasmuch  as  ye  are  partakers  of  Christ's  sufferings  ; 
that,  when  His  glory  shall  be  revealed,  ye  may  be 
glad  with  exceeding  joy."*  How  often  we  forget 
this  admonition,  and  think  it  very  strange,  and, 
perhaps,  even  unjust,  that  we  should  have  to  endure 
certain  sorrows  or  sufferings — unjust,  because  we 
have  always  striven  to  serve  God  faithfully.  And 
yet  our  Lord  and  His  Apostles  point  out  to  us  that 
this  is  precisely  the  reason  why  we  must  expect 
peculiar  sufferings;  for  the  world  hates  those  who  are 
Christ's,  and  persecutes  them.       And    not   only  the 

*   I  S.  Peter  iv.  12,  13. 
240 


(Brpebtencg  of  (Unpfeacant  Zxutf^B.  ^ 

world,  but  he  who  is  the  Prince  of  this  world,  the 
devil,  will  bring  peculiar  temptations  to  bear  upon 
those  who  are  striving  most  earnestly  to  follow  the 
steps  of  their  Lord's  life. 

S.  Peter  exhorts  us  to  rejoice,  inasmuch  as  by 
these  trials  we  are  made  partakers  of  Christ's 
sufferings ;  and  what  can  be  a  greater  privilege  to 
the  Christian  than  to  share  his  Master's  Cross  ?  As 
we  have  already  noticed,  our  Lord  draws  attention  to 
the  same  privilege  when  He  says,  "  All  these  things 
will  they  do  unto  you  for  My  Name's  sake."* 

"  And  these  things  I  said  not  unto  you  at  the 
beginning,  because  I  was  with  you.  But  now  I  go 
My  way  to  Him  that  sent  Me  ;  and  none  of  you 
asketh  Me,  Whither  goest  Thou  ?  But  because  I 
have  said  these  things  unto  you,  sorrow  hath  filled 
your  heart."  While  Christ  was  with  them  He  could 
comfort  them  and  guide  them,  but  now  that  He  is 
about  to  leave  them,  He  tells  them  of  all  the  sorrows 
which  shall  befall  them,  in  order  that  when  they 
happen.  His  disciples  may  be  prepared  for  them,  and 
may  not  be  overwhelmed  as  by  unexpected  trials. 
But  Christ  does  more  than  this.  He  goes  on  to 
promise  them  another  Comforter,  Who,  like  Himself, 
and  even  more  than  Himself,  shall  comfort  and  guide 
them.     These  things  He  had  not  told  them  at  the 

*    S.  John  XV.  21. 

241  R 


^  ^ixi^  T^ebnecbag  in  £enf. 

beginning-,  because,  while  He  was  with  them,  He 
could  help  them  to  meet  their  difficulties  as  they  arose. 
He  now  tells  them  of  another  Guide,  Who  shall 
never  leave  them,  Who  shall  guide  them  into  all 
truth  and  shall  comfort  them  in  all  sorrows.  The 
coming  of  this  Comforter,  however,  depends  on 
Christ's  departure. 

He  says,  "  Now  I  go  My  way  to  Him  that  sent 
Me,  and  none  of  you  asketh  Me,  Whither  goest 
Thou?  But  because  I  have  said  these  things  unto 
you,  sorrow  hath  filled  your  heart."  Surely  these 
are  words  of  gentle  reproof.  They  were  so  absorbed 
in  their  own  sorrow  at  the  thought  of  losing  Him, 
that  they  did  not  stop  to  think  or  to  ask  how  His 
departure  would  affect  Himself.  They  knew  He 
was  leaving  them  ;  in  the  thought  of  their  own  loss 
they  did  not  enquire  concerning  His  gain.  He  was 
going  to  the  Father  Who  had  sent  Him;  He  was 
going  to  prepare  a  place  for  them  in  the  Father's 
house.  Surely  these  words  opened  out  wonderful 
possibilities  in  the  great  future  beyond  the  grave  ; 
yet  they  were  so  occupied  in  their  present  grief,  that 
they  had  little  interest  in  what  He  said  about  the 
future. 

"  None  of  you  asketh  Me,  Whither  goest  Thou  ?  " 
But  some  may  say,  did  not  S.  Peter  and  S.  Thomas 
substantially  ask  this  question.     S.   Peter  used    the 

242 


(B;rpebtencg  of  (Unpfeacanf  Cxuf^e.  ^ 

very  words,  "  Lord,  whither  goest  Thou  ?  "*  and  S. 
Thomas  suggested  this  question  when  he  said,  "  Lord, 
we  know  not  whither  Thou  goest,  how  know  we  the 
way?  "f  This  is  true  ;  but  if  we  examine  what  they 
said  a  Httle  more  carefully,  we  shall  observe  that 
they  were  both  thinking  of  themselves,  of  our  Lord's 
departure  in  relation  to  themselves,  and  that  they 
were  neither  of  them  solicitous  about  their  Master's 
future,  except  in  so  far  as  it  affected  themselves. 

Christ's  answer  to  S.  Peter  shows  this,  for  He  says, 
"  Whither  I  go,  thou  canst  not  follow  Me  now  ;  but 
thou  shalt  follow  Me  afterwards."  S.  Peter's  question, 
'*  Lord,  whither  goest  Thou  ? "  had  for  its  motive 
S.  Peter's  intention  to  go  with  his  Master ;  and 
similarly  S.  Thomas  is  more  concerned  with  the  fact 
that  he  is  not  clear  about  the  way  in  which  he 
himself  is  to  walk,  than  he  is  in  regard  to  the  goal 
of  his  Master's  journey.  When,  therefore,  Christ 
says,  *'  None  of  you  asketh  Me,  Whither  goest  Thou? 
But  because  I  have  said  these  things  unto  you, 
sorrow  hath  filled  your  heart,"  He  is  referring  not 
so  much  to  the  verbal  question,  "  Whither  goest 
Thou  ? "  as  to  the  fact  that  their  sorrow  was  so 
entirely  selfish,  that  they  were  occupied  exclusively 
in  the  consideration  of  the  effect  of  their  Master's 
departure  upon  their  own  lives. 

*  S.  John  xiii.  36.       f  S.  John  xiv.  5. 
243 


•o^  ^ixi^  T3?ebnegbag  in  &enf> 

"  Nevertheless,  I  tell  you  the  truth  ;  It  is  expedient 
for  you  that  I  go  away."  In  these  words  we  have 
a  great  practical  lesson.  Our  Lord  does  not  hesitate 
to  tell  them  the  truth,  when  it  is  expedient  for  them 
to  know  that  truth,  even  though  that  knowledge  is  to 
fill  their  heart  with  sorrow.  How  often  we  shrink 
from  telling  other  people  unpleasant  truths,  which 
we  ought  to  tell  them,  because  we  are  afraid  of 
displeasing  them,  or  of  causing  them  pain.  Again, 
^  we  do  not  like  others  to  tell  us  unpleasant  truths, 
because  they  hurt  our  vanity.  But,  alas,  we  are 
quite  ready  to  speak  unpleasant  truths  to  gratify  our 
malice  against  those  whom  we  do  not  love,  or 
perhaps  even  without  this  excuse,  when  we  indulge 
in  idle  gossip. 

How    different    was    our    Lord's    rule.      He   says, 
"  Although  these  things  fill  you  with  sorrow,  never- 
theless, I   tell  you  the  truth."     He  told  them   what 
was  unpleasant,  because  it  was  for  their  good.     He 
did  not  hold   back  part  of  the  truth,   as  people  so 
often  do,  for  fear  of  offending  them.  He  told  them 
the  whole  truth  because  it  was  important  that  they 
should  know  it,  although  it  was  hard  for  them   to 
hear  it.     It  was  expedient  for  them  that  He  should 
go  away,  in  order  that  the   Comforter  might  come 
unto  them  ;  and  instead  of  waiting  for  them  to  find 
this  out  for  themselves,  Christ  tells  them  of  it,  tells 

244 


(B;ryebtencg  of  (Unyfeaeant  txni^B.  ^ 

them  plainly,  though  it  pains  them  to  hear  it,  tells 
them  not  only  that  He  is  about  to  leave  them,  but 
that  His  departure,  the  very  thought  of  which  fills 
them  with  sorrow,  is  for  their  ultimate  benefit. 


;i 


245 


XXXIL 


THE    HOLY    GHOST   AND    SIN. 


S.  John  xvi.  7,  8. 

*'  It  is  expedient  for  you  that  I  go  away  :  for  if  I  go  not  away,  the 
Comforter  will  not  come  unto  you  ;  but  if  I  depart,  I  will  send  Him 
unto  you.  And  when  He  is  come,  He  will  reprove  the  world  of  sin, 
of  righteousness,  and  of  judgment." 

N  these  words  our  Lord  not  only  tells  His 
disciples  why  it  is  expedient  that  He 
should  go  away — that  the  Comforter  may 
come  unto  them — but  He  reveals  to  them  the 
purpose  and  work  for  which  the  Comforter  shall 
come  as  it  regards  the  world  at  large.  Of  course, 
we  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  the  world  is  many-sided.  He  comes  to 
bear  witness  to  Christ  ;  He  comes  to  guide  the 
Church    into   all     trulh  ;     He    comes    to    endow   the 

246 


Church  with  special  powers  of  grace  ;  but  His  work 
upon  the  world  and  in  the  individual  soul  is  summed 
up  with  great  conciseness,  and  yet  with  sufficient 
fulness  in  the  v/ords,  "  He  shall  reprove  the  world 
of  sin,  of  righteousness,  and  of  judgment."  Most 
persons  probably  read  these  words  without  adequately 
understanding  them,  certainly  without  realising  that 
in  them  is  contained  an  epitome  of  the  work  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  soul  of  man. 

First  we  must  point  out  that  the  word  translated 
"  reprove "  (eXe-y^ei)  ought  to  be  convict.  The  word 
itself  signifies  to  convince  by  argument,  and  so,  in 
this  case,  to  convict  the  world  of  sin.  But  what  do 
we  mean  by  convict  ?  What  is  the  full  force  of  this 
word  ?  It  is  a  word  of  very  wide  meaning,  for  it 
implies,  first  an  authoritative  examination,  and 
then  someone  who  has  a  right  to  make  the 
examination — as  in  a  court  of  justice  the  court  has 
authority  to  examine  witnesses.  It  further  implies 
unquestionable  proof;  in  a  court  conviction  cannot 
follow  unless  the  crime  has  been  proved.  And 
lastly  it  implies  the  power  to  punish,  for  no  court 
convicts  a  man  of  crime  unless  it  can  pass  sentence 
upon  that  man. 

If  we  apply  this  to  the  conviction  of  the  world 
by  the  Holy  Ghost  we  shall  see  that  the  term 
conviction  involves  such  a  conviction,  that   he   who 

247 


•«^  ^irt^  ^^^utBbdg  in  &cnt 

rejects  it,  rejects  it  with  his  eyes  open  and  at  his 
peril.  And  this  is  precisely  what  happens  when 
an  individual  rejects  the  work  and  teaching  of  the 
Holy  Ghost. 

We  cannot  apply  this  to  the  heathen  who  know 
not  God,  nor  to  those  nominal  Christians  who  have 
never  really  come  into  contact  with  the  work  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  whose  rejection  of  Christ's  claims 
upon  them  is  not  so  much  wilful,  as  from  ignorance 
of  the  overwhelming  force  of  those  claims.  We 
must  refer  it  rather  to  those  who  have  seen  the  light 
and  turned  from  it,  because  they  loved  darkness 
better ;  who  have  seen  the  truth  and  rejected  it, 
because  its  acceptance  involved  sacrifices  which  they 
were  not  prepared  to  make.  But  it  refers  also, 
thank  God,  to  those  who  have  seen  and  followed  the 
guiding  of  the  light,  and  have  heard  and  obeyed  the 
teachings  of  the  truth. 

The  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  put  by  our  Lord 
under  three  categories  or  heads — sin.  righteousness, 
and  judgment.  And  this  division  is  in  a  sense 
exhaustive,  since  sin,  righteousness,  and  judgment 
are  the  cardinal  elements  in  the  determination  of 
man's  spiritual  state  in  the  world  ;  for  in  them  his 
past,  his  prese7it,  and  his  future  are  summed  up. 
Man's  past  is  summed  up  in  the  word  "  sin  ; "  if 
the    conviction    of  sin    has  led   to  its  proper   result 

248 


tf}C  %oi2  (B^M  Ci.xi^  ^tn. 


r^©- 


in  penitence,  his  present  will  be  an  intense  striving 
for  righteousness  ;  and  this  will  enable  him  to  look 
forward,  with  hope  and  confidence  in  the  mercy 
of  God,  to  the  future,  to  the  judgment  which 
awaits  all  men. 

Let  us  further  consider  these  three  states  more  in 
detail,  and  first  the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in 
convicting  man  of  sin.  The  first  work  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  upon  the  soul  of  man  is  its  illumination. 
God's  light  shines  in  the  soul  revealing  to  man 
two  things — his  present  condition — what  he  is  ;  and 
his  future  possibilities — what  he  may  become  by  the 
help  of  God's  grace.  And  this  self-knowledge  is  the 
basis  of  all  future  growth  in  righteousness.  We 
need  to  pray,  **  Lord,  show  me  myself ;  Lord, 
let  me  not  deceive  myself." 

The  first  revelation  of  self  to  a  sinner  is  indeed 
overwhelming.  Long  forgotten  sins  stand  out 
clearly  in  the  light  of  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  and  the 
soul  too  often  seems  a  chaos  of  conflicting  passions 
and  desires.  We  see  good  and  noble  purposes 
formed,  but  never  carried  into  execution.  We  see 
grievous  sins  realised,  feebly  struggled  against,  and 
then  constantly  yielded  to. 

The  Holy  Ghost  first  brings  home  to  man  that  he 
is  a  fallen  creature,  possessed  of  great  possibilities  of 
good  or  evil,  but  unable,  by  himself,  to  rise  from  sin 

249 


'^^  ^ixt^  S^^utfibag  in  £enf. 

to  break  its  chains,  to  live  the  life  of  righteousness. 
So  that  he  can  express  his  conviction  of  sin  in 
S.  Paul's  words, "  For  the  good  that  I  would  I  do 
not  :  but  the  evil  which  I  would  not,  that  I  do  .  .  . 
I  find  then  a  law,  that,  when  I  would  do  good,  evil  is 
present  with  me.  For  I  delight  in  the  law  of  God 
after  the  inward  man :  But  I  see  another  law  in  my 
members,  warring  against  the  law  of  my  mind,  and 
brinf^ing  me  into  captivity  to  the  law  of  sin  which  is 
in  my  members.  O  wretched  man  that  I  am !  who 
shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death  ?  "* 

This  is  the  first  step  in  the  work  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  man's  soul — to  convict  him  of  sin.  We 
must  first  learn  the  possibilities  of  evil  in  us,  and 
then  the  dangers  which  threaten  us  and  our  own 
absolute  inability  of  ourselves  to  overcome  this  evil. 
After  this  we  must  realise  that  we  are  subject  to  the 
influence  of  one  of  two  powers,  of  one  of  two  spirits 
— the  Spirit  of  good,  the  Holy  Ghost,  or  the  spirit  of 
evil,  the  devil.  We  must  recognise  the  fact  that  we 
are  not,  and  that  we  never  can  be  independent.  Our 
will  is  free  to  choose  which  it  will  serve  of  these  two 
masters,  but  serve  it  must,  either  enrolling  itself  in 
the  service  of  God,  which  is  perfect  freedom,  but  not 
independence,  or  in  the  service  of  the  devil,  which  is 
degrading  bondage. 

*  Romans  vii.  19-24. 
250 


The  Holy  Ghost  shall  convict  the  world  of  sin. 
The  world  is  always  making  mistakes  about  sin, 
taking  erroneous  views  of  it — that  sin  is  a  misfortune 
which  cannot  be  avoided,  or  a  disease  which  man  has 
inherited.  In  either  case  it  persuades  itself  that  it  is 
something  which  man  cannot  help,  and  for  which, 
therefore,  he  is  not  really  responsible.  The  world 
will  not  admit  the  guil^  of  sin. 

Our  Lord  says  that  the  Holy  Ghost  will  convict 
the  world  "  of  sin  because  they  believed  not  on  Me." 
Since  Christ  came  into  the  world  sin  may  be  traced 
back  to  rejection  of  Him  ;  and  it  is  this  which  the 
Holy  Ghost  brings  home  to  the  soul,  that  sin  is 
practically  the  result  of  unbelief  in  Christ  as  the  Son 
of  God,  unbelief  in  Christ  as  the  Redeemer  of  man, 
unbelief  in  the  power  of  His  precious  Blood  to  wash 
away  sin.  For  the  basis  of  repentance  is  faith.  If 
you  do  not  believe  in  the  power  of  Christ's  precious 
Blood  to  cleanse  you  from  all  sin,  you  will  never 
rightly  repent  of  your  sin.  You  may  have  remorse 
for  it,  you  may  regret  it,  but  you  will  not  repent 
of  it. 

The  Holy  Ghost  shall  convict  the  world  "  of  sin, 
because  they  believed  not  on  Me."  It  is  the  work  of 
God's  Spirit  to  bring  this  faith  home  to  your  soul,  to 
make  it  not  only  an  intellectual  opinion,  but  a  moral 
conviction,  so  that  you   may  not  merely  believe   in 

251 


-o^'  ^xxt^  ^^^urebag  in  &enf. 

theory  that  Christ  has  made  provision  in  His  Church 
for  the  absolution  and  remission  of  your  sins,  but 
that  the  moral  conviction  of  sin  may  lead  you  to  use 
diligently  the  means  which  Christ  has  provided  and 
appointed  for  its  remission. 

But  not  only  does  the  Holy  Ghost  convict  the 
soul  of  sin,  it  provides  the  remedy.  For  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  the  Agent  in  the  Sacraments  of  the  Church; 
by  Baptism  He  applies  the  precious  Blood  of  Christ 
to  the  remission  of  all  sin  both  original  and  actual  ; 
and  for  post-baptismal  sin  through  the  absolution  of 
the  Church  He  restores  the  soul  to  the  state  of  grace 
by  the  renewed  application  of  the  Blood  of  Christ. 

The  Holy  Ghost  convicts  the  world  of  rejecting 
Christ,  of  leaving  unused  His  sacraments  of  grace,  of 
refusing  to  see  that  sin  is  rebellion,  lawlessness,  of 
attributing  sin  to  other  and  insufficient  causes — to 
weakness  or  ignorance,  instead  of  error  in  the 
intellect  and  perversion  in  the  soul,  and  therefore 
the  rejection  alike  of  truth  and  righteousness.  The 
Holy  Ghost  convicts  the  world  of  the  erroneousness 
of  its  theories  and  brings  home  to  the  penitent  a  true 
conception  of  the  malice  of  sin,  a  realisation  of  what 
sin  is  in  God's  sight,  and  so,  lays  in  the  sinner's  soul 
the  foundation  of  penitence. 


252 


XXXIII. 

^ixt^  S^tbag  in  &enf. 


THE  HOLY  GHOST  AND  RIGHTEOUSNESS. 


S.  John  xvi.  8,   lo. 
"And  when    He   is   come,    He   will   convict    the   world   .    .    .   ot 
righteousness,  because  I  go  to  My  Father,  and  ye  see  Me  no  more." 


E  have  seen  that  the  cardinal  elements  in 
the  determination  of  man's  spiritual  state 
are  three — sin,  righteousness,  and  judgment ; 
for  in  them  his  past,  present,  and  future  are  severally 
summed  up.  We  are  told  by  our  Lord,  in  the 
passage  under  our  consideration,  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  has  a  special  work  to  do  in  the  human  soul 
in  regard  to  each  of  these.  We  have  treated  of 
His  work  in  convicting  the  world  of  sin  ;  we  have, 
therefore,  for  our  consideration  to-day  His  work  in 
convicting  the  world  of  righteousness. 

253 


The  first  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  sinner's 
soul,  as  we  have  seen,  is  to  reveal  to  it  its  true  state, 
to  bestow  upon  it  the  gift  of  self-knowledge,  and, 
if  he  use  it,  the  gift  of  penitence.  This  is  strikingly 
brought  before  us  in  the  parable  of  the  woman 
and  the  ten  pieces  of  silver,*  which  is  indeed  the 
great  parable  of  the  work  of  the   Holy  Spirit 

The  woman  begins  her  work  by  lighting  a  candle, 
which  typifies  the  illumination  of  the  soul  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,  the  light  of  the  candle  revealing  the 
condition  of  her  house.  She  sees  the  dust  of  sin, 
the  result,  perhaps,  of  years  of  neglect.  Then  follows 
the  diligent  sweeping,  which  brings  before  us  the 
work  of  penitence  ;  and  as  this  sweeping  proceeds 
and  the  dust  is  removed,  the  piece  of  silver  is 
discovered  hidden  away  among  the  dust.  The  light 
shines  upon  it,  and  the  silver  piece  responds  to 
the  light,  reflecting  it  with   metallic  glitter. 

At  this  point  in  the  parable  we  reach  the  second 
stage  of  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  soul — 
the  discovery  of  its  innate  possibilities  of  righteous- 
ness. Some  have  seen  a  striking  analogy  between 
the  coin  stamped  with  the  image  of  the  reigning 
sovereign  and  the  soul  impressed  with  the  image 
of  God,  the  Lord  of  all ;  but,  beautiful  as  the  analogy 
is,    it    can    scarcely    be    pressed    in    this    case,   since 

*   Cf.  S.  T.uke  XV.  8-10. 

254 


the  word  {dpaxfMrjv)  translated  a  "  piece  of  silver " 
signifies  the  Greek  drachma,  which  did  not,  like 
the  Latin  denarius,  bear  upon  it  the  emperor's 
image  and  superscription,  but  was  generally  stamped 
with  some  device — an  owl  or  tortoise,  or  the  head 
of  Minerva. 

While  we  may  not  press  the  analogy,  the  fact  is 
no  less  true  that  the  soul  of  man  bears  impressed 
upon  it  the  image  of  God  ;  and  it  is  the  revelation 
of  this,  its  intrinsic  value  because  of  its  immense 
possibilities,  which  is  the  second  stage  of  the  work 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  man's  soul.  The  Holy  Spirit 
not  only  reveals  to  the  sinner  what  he  is,  but 
shows  him  what  he  may  become  if  he  will  correspond 
with  God's  grace,  diligently  sweeping  away  the  dust 
of  sin  through  penitence,  and  earnestly  striving  to 
perfect  the  work  of  righteousness  in  his   life. 

But  this,  again,  is  the  special  work  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  Who  is  the  Sanctifier  of  the  elect,  and  Who, 
after  He  has  convicted  the  world  of  the  need  and 
possibility  of  righteousness,  proceeds  to  the  work 
of  sanctification  in  the  soul  which  surrenders  itself 
to  His  guidance.  But  in  what  does  this  work 
consist  ? 

First,  in  bringing  home  to  the  soul  the  righteous- 
ness of  Christ  as  the  only  righteousness  possible. 
Our  Lord  said   of  the  Comforter,  "  He  shall  testify 

255 


^  ^ixi^  Snbctg  in  SLcni, 

of  Me,"  and  again,  "  He  shall  glorify  Me,  for  He 
shall  receive  of  Mine  and  shall  show  it  unto 
you."* 

Then  in  the  work  of  imparting  to  the  soul  this 
righteousness  through  incorporation  with  Christ  by 
Baptism,  and  through  feeding  upon  Him  in  the 
Holy  Communion  ;  for  we  must  remember  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  the  Agent  of  all  the  Sacraments.  The 
priest  may  pour  water  upon  the  child  and  say  the 
words  which  Christ  commanded,  but  it  is  the  Holy 
Ghost  Who  regenerates  that  child.  For,  as  our 
Lord  said  to  Nicodemus,  '*  Except  a  man  be  born 
of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into 
the  Kingdom  of  God."-f-  The  priest  may  consecrate 
the  elements  in  the  Holy  Eucharist,  but  it  is  the 
Holy  Ghost  Who  makes  the  Bread  and  Wine  to 
become  the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ.  And  yet 
ap^ain,  if  this  righteousness  should  be  lost  by 
yielding  to  mortal  sin,  it  is  the  Holy  Ghost  Who, 
working  in  the  Sacrament  of  Penance,  restores  the 
soul  to  the  state  of  grace. 

"  He  will  convict  the  world  ....  of  righteous- 
ness, because  I  go  to  My  Father,  and  ye  see  Me 
no  more."  In  these  words  our  Lord  associates 
righteousness  with  His  Ascension  ;  for  the  life  and 
death,   the    resurrection    and    ascension    of     Christ 

*  S.  John  XV.  26  ;  xvi.  14.  f  S.  John  iii.  5. 

256 


placed  righteousness  in  a  new  light,  and  brought 
it  within  the  reach  of  every  believer.  Christ's 
Ascension,  the  consummation  of  His  life  and  work, 
was  the  vindication  of  God's  righteousness,  of 
Christ's  righteousness.  And  more,  the  exaltation 
of  the  Son  of  Man  to  the  life  of  glory  at  the  right 
hand  of  the  Father  in  Heaven  was  necessary,  as 
our  Lord  reminded  His  disciples,  in  order  that  He 
might  send  that  Holy  Spirit,  Who  should  convict 
the  world  of  righteousness,  and  sanctify  all  who 
should  yield  themselves  to   His  gracious  influence. 

So  S.  Paul,  quoting  from  the  Psalmist,*  says, 
"  When  He  ascended  up  on  high,  He  led  captivity 
captive,  and  gave  gifts  unto  men/'-f*  What  were 
these  gifts  ?  First,  the  Holy  Ghost ;  for  Christ  said, 
"  It  is  expedient  for  you  that  I  go  away  ;  for  if  I 
go  not  away,  the  Comforter  will  not  come  unto 
you  ;  but  if  I  depart  I  will  send  Him  unto  you."{ 
Then  the  gifts  of  grace  which  the  Holy  Ghost 
brings  to  the  soul. 

Lastly,  to  encourage  us  in  our  pursuit  of  right- 
eousness, there  is  the  thought,  the  conviction,  that 
since,  and  because  of,  Christ's  Ascension  there  is 
reigning  in  Heaven  glorified  Humanity  in  the  Person 
of  the  Son  of  God,  the  Lord  of  righteousness  ; 
and  there  comes  to  us  from  the  throne  of  Heaven 

*   Psalm  Ixviii.  i8.  f  Eph.  iv.  8.  j  John  xvi.  7. 

257  S 


^  ^m  frtbftg  in  &ent. 

this  message,  "  To  him  that  overcometh  will  I 
grant  to  sit  with  Me  in  My  throne,  even  as  I  also 
overcame,  and  am  set  down  with  My  Father  in 
His  throne."* 

*  Rev.  iii.  21. 


258 


XXXIV. 

^ixi^  ^dturbag  in  £enf. 


THE  HOLY  GHOST  AND  JUDGMENT. 


S.  John  xvi.  8  and  ii. 

*'And   when   He  is  come,    He  will  convict  the  world  ....    of 
judgment,  because  the  prince  of  this  world  is  judged." 

F  man's  past  state  has  been  one  of  sin,  and 
his  present  condition  ought  to  be  a  state  of 
righteousness,  there  can  be  no  doubt  in  the 
mind  of  the  Christian  that  there  awaits  him  in  the 
future  the  Day  of  Judgment.  And  it  is  the  work  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  to  convince  man  of  this,  to  bring  it 
home  to  him,  not  merely  as  a  dogma  of  faith  to 
which  his  intellect  gives  assent,  but  as  a  tremendous 
moral  fact  which  must  influence  the  whole  of  life ; 
for  the  teaching  of  S.  Paul,  that  "  we  must  all 
appear   before   the   judgment   seat   of   Christ  ;    that 

259 


every  one  may  receive  the  things  done  in  his  body, 
accordinor  to  that  he  hath  done,  whether  it  be  good 
or  bad,"*  is  an  essential  dogma  of  a  Christian's  faith. 

This  is  accomplished  largely  by  arousing  in  man, 
or,  if  it  be  already  aroused,  deepening  in  him,  a  sense 
of  responsibility,  a  conviction  of  the  strictness  of  the 
account  which  he  must  give  for  his  life  here.  A 
conviction  that  the  day  will  come  when  he  will  have 
to  render  an  account  of  his  stewardship,  when  he  will 
be  accused  by  the  accuser  of  the  brethren,  the  devil 
himself,  of  wasting  his  Lord's  goods,  of  misusing  or 
not  using  the  talents  committed  to  him  for  the  work 
of  life  in  this  world. 

There  is  in  every  man  the  sense  of  responsibility  ; 
for  this  is  one  of  the  innate  ideas  implanted  in  man 
by  God  Who  created  him.  If  you  were  to  stop  an 
unbeliever  in  the  street  and  ask  him,  "  Are  you  a 
responsible  being  ? "  what  would  he  answer  ?  He 
would  certainly  say,  "  Yes  ;  every  man  who  is  not 
deprived  of  the  light  of  reason  is  a  responsible 
being."  He  will  say  this  ;  for  there  is  in  everyone 
an  innate  conviction,  the  voice  of  natural  conscience, 
which  brings  home  to  him,  more  or  less,  a  sense  of 
responsibility. 

But  if  you  were  to  go  on  to  ask,  "  To  whom  arc 
you    responsible?"   you    would    not    find    the    same 

*  2  Cor.  V.  lo. 

260 


universal  agreement  in  the  answer.  The  Christian, 
without  hesitation,  would  say,  "  I  am  responsible  to 
God  ; "  the  unbeliever  might  reply,  "  I  am  responsible 
to  society,  to  my  fellow-men,  or,  perhaps,  to  my  own 
higher  self.  I  am  responsible  to  my  conscience 
which,  if  I  do  wrong,  reproaches  me  and  pursues  me 
with  the  accusations  and  pangs  of  remorse." 

We  shall  not  consider  the  unbeliever's  answer 
further  than  to  observe  that  it  is  quite  inadequate, 
and  is  extorted  from  him  only  by  the  undeniable  fact 
of  the  existence  in  every  man  of  a  sense  of  responsi- 
bility. Our  Lord  reveals  to  us  that  it  is  the  work  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  to  convince  the  world  of  judgment, 
that  is,  to  enlighten  the  natural  conscience  in  regard 
to  this  innate  sense  of  responsibiHty,  to  be  its  guide 
and  to  teach  it  why  it  is  responsible,  in  what  way 
and  to  whom. 

But  first,  what  do  we  mean  by  this  word  "  respon- 
sible "  ?  Its  derivation  suggests  that  it  means  we 
must  give  an  answer,  when  we  are  examined,  con- 
cerning the  thoughts,  words,  and  actions  of  our  life. 
We  are  responsible  because  God,  Who  created  us, 
endowed  us  with  the  light  of  reason  and  with  a  sense 
of  right  and  wrong,  with  a  knowledge  of  good  and 
evil.  The  lower  animals  and  those  unfortunate 
human  beings  who  are  bereft  of  reason,  are  not 
responsible  because  they  have  not  the  light  of  reason 

261 


and  the  knowledge  of  ri^ht  and  wrong  to  guide 
them.  There  is  an  instinct  in  the  lower  animals 
which  prevents  them  from  doing  things  harmful  to 
themselves,  and  leads  them  to  choose  what  is  best 
for  their  own  limited  life.  Yet  this  instinct  does  not 
give  them  the  power  of  moral  choice.  A  dog  may- 
be trained  to  do  certain  things  and  to  abstain  from 
others,  but  the  motive  is  remembrance  of  pleasure  or 
pain,  or  fear  of  punishment ;  it  is  not  a  sense  of  right 
and  wrong,  not  a  knowledge  of  good  and  evil. 

Again,  we  are  responsible  because  there  is  a 
tribunal  before  which  we  must  stand  to  give  account 
of  our  life  in  this  world.  As  S.  Paul  says,  "  We 
shall  all  stand  before  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ," 
and  "  and  every  one  of  us  shall  give  account  of 
himself  to  God."*  It  is  the  work  then  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  to  convince  us  of  this  tremendous  fact  which 
awaits  us  in  the  future,  that  there  is  a  day  of  judg- 
ment when  we  must  render  our  account  to  God,  and 
to  teach  us  now  to  prepare  for  that  great  day.  This 
preparation  should  affect  our  daily  lives,  should  lead 
us  so  to  live  "  That  we  may  have  boldness  in  the  day 
o  f  judgment"! 

The  conviction  that  there  is  a  day  of  judgment 
when  we  must  give  an  account  of  our  stewardship, 
will  lead  practically  to  great  carefulness  and  watch- 

*   Rom.  xiv.  lo  and  12.  f   i  S.  John  iv.  17. 

262 


fulness  in  our  present  lives.  It  will  also  kindle  a 
great  desire  for  accurate  self-knowledge,  and  will 
impel  us,  therefore,  to  such  steps  as  will  enable  us  to 
advance  in  this  important  duty.  But  self-knowledge 
and  watchfulness  alike  demand  the  practice  of  self- 
examination  ;  for  if  we  are  to  give  an  account  we 
must  keep  an  account,  and  self-examination  is  the 
means  by  which  our  account  is  kept. 

Again,  if  we  are  to  watch  we  must  practice  con- 
stant self-examination  ;  for  this  is  really  what 
watchfulness  means.  The  watchman  on  the  walls 
of  a  beleaguered  city  is  constantly  examining  or 
watching  all  that  takes  place  without  the  city,  in 
order  that  he  may  detect  any  covert  approach  of  the 
enemy,  and  give  the  alarm  to  those  within.  The 
only  way  in  which  we  can  follow  this  example  in 
regard  to  our  spiritual  life  is  by  frequent  examination 
of  our  thoughts  and  words  and  deeds,  to  see  if 
temptation  has  been  yielded  to,  and  more,  to  find 
out  precisely  through  what  temptations  the  devil 
is  striving  to  gain  an  entrance  into  our  souls. 

Then,  too,  self-examination  is  necessary  in  order 
that  we  may  repair  the  breaches  which  have  been 
made  in  our  spiritual  fortifications  by  our  yielding  to 
temptation.  For  self-examination  reveals  not  only 
the  temptations  by  which  Satan  is  striving  to  over- 
come us,  but  the  extent  to  which  they  have  been 

263 


•^  ^ixi^  ^(tturbag  in  &ent. 

consented  to,  and  therefore  the  extent  of  the  injury 
to  the  fortifications  of  our  soul.  This  will  lead,  on 
the  one  hand,  to  penitence  by  which  we  remove  the 
guilt  of  sin  and  heal  its  wounds,  and  on  the  other 
hand  to  efforts  to  acquire  the  opposite  virtues.  For 
penitence  alone  is  but  negative  in  its  effects,  the 
undoing  of  the  injury  done  to  our  souls  through  sin, 
and  it  is  only  through  the  acquisition  of  Christian 
virtues,  especially  such  as  are  of  the  very  opposite 
character  to  our  sins,  that  we  can  acquire  strength 
and  develop  spiritual  character. 

In  this  work  of  self-examination  we  must  carefully 
bear  in  mind  that  we  have  not  only  to  give  account 
of  what  we  have  done  amiss,  but  also  of  what  we 
have  left  undone,  of  the  opportunities  which  we  have 
neglected,  of  having  wasted  the  goods  committed  to 
us.  Our  Blessed  Lord  in  more  than  one  of  His 
parables  warns  us  of  this.  In  the  Parable  of  the 
Talents  and  in  the  Parable  of  the  Pounds,  it  was  the 
man  who  had  not  used  his  one  talent  or  pound  who 
was  cast  into  the  outer  darkness  ;  and  in  the  Parable 
of  the  Judgment  Day,  those  on  the  left  hand, 
who  received  the  sentence  of  condemnation,  were 
told  that  it  was  because  they  had  left  undone 
works  of  mercy,  because  they  had  failed  to  use 
opportunities  of  loving  service  to  their  fcllow-nicn, 
that  they  were  condemned. 

264 


We  must  further  notice  that  our  Lord  tells  us  that 
the  Holy  Ghost  shall  convict  the  world  of  judgment, 
because  "the  prince  of  this  world  is  judged,"  or 
rather  hath  been  judged  ;  for  the  tense  is  the  perfect 
(KCKpirat).  The  prince  of  this  world,  Satan,  was 
judged  on  the  Cross,  when  guilty  man  was  redeemed, 
for  the  Cross  was  indeed  the  judgment  seat  of 
Christ,  where  the  debt  of  sin  was  paid,  the  devil 
condemned,  and  man,  through  the  merits  of  Christ, 
acquitted. 

The  devil,  as  his  very  name  implies,  comes  before 
God  as  the  accuser  of  man,  but  finds  himself  accused 
of  man's  fall,  and  condemned  in  the  very  act  by 
which  he  thought  to  gain  the  victory,  the  act  by 
which  he  strove  to  put  to  death  the  Son  of  God.  As 
S.  Ambrose  has  said,  The  wolf  seized  the  Lamb  of 
God  in  his  jaws,  but  found  his  jaw  broken  on  the 
Rock  of  Ages ;  for  Satan's  power  over  man  was 
broken  by  the  Passion  and  Death  of  Jesus  Christ. 

The  Cross  of  our  Lord  is  the  judgment  throne  not 
only  for  Satan,  but  for  all  men  who  come  in  contact 
with  it ;  for  all  men  are  judged  by  their  relation  to 
the  Passion  and  Death  of  Jesus  Christ.  Sin  was  the 
cause  of  our  Lord's  Passion — our  sins  ;  and  we  must 
say  in  the  words  of  the  great  penitent,  David, 
"  Deliver   me  from  blood-guiltiness,  O  God."*      He 

*   Psalm  li.  14. 
265 


^  ^ixi^  Safutbag  in  SLtni, 

was  thinking  of  his  guilt  with  respect  to  the  shedding 
of  Uriah's  Blood,  we  of  our  share  in  the  shedding  of 
the  Blood  of  Christ  by  our  sins. 

We  are  judged  by  our  relation  to  His  Passion  ;  for 
that  Blood  which  was  shed  upon  the  Cross  either 
cries  out  against  us  for  vengeance,  or  is  poured  upon 
us,  cleansing  us  through  penitence.  Satan  has  been 
judged  and  condemned,  and  for  him  there  is  no 
further  judgment ;  we  are  being  judged  now.  We 
are  called  upon  to  judge  ourselves  day  by  day  ;  for 
there  is  a  tribunal  of  mercy  before  which  we  may 
even  now  give  our  account,  and  receive  acquittal  for 
our  debts  in  preparation  for  that  great  day  when  all 
accounts  will  be  rendered,  and  each  will  receive 
either  acquittal  or  condemnation. 


266 


XXXV. 


THE  HOLY  GHOST  OUR  GUIDE. 


S.  John  xvi.   12-15. 

' '  I  have  yet  many  things  to  say  unto  you,  but  ye  cannot  bear  them 
now.  Howbeit  when  He,  the  Spirit  of  truth,  is  come,  He  will  guide 
you  into  all  truth  :  for  He  shall  not  speak  of  Himself ;  but  whatsoever 
He  shall  hear,  that  shall  He  speak  :  and  He  will  show  you  things  to 
come.  He  shall  glorify  me  :  for  He  shall  receive  of  Mine,  and  shall 
shew  it  unto  you.  All  things  that  the  Father  hath  are  Mine  :  there- 
fore said  I,  that  He  shall  take  of  Mine,  and  shall  shew  it  unto  you." 

|E  have  spoken  of  the  work  of  the  Holy- 
Ghost  towards  the  world,  and  towards  the 
individual  soul  in  the  world,  as  manifested 
in  convicting  the  world  of  sin,  of  righteousness,  and 
of  judgment.  In  the  next  section,  which  we  are 
to  consider  to-day,  our  Lord  turns  to  the  work  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  in  relation  to  the  Church,  to  His 
work  among  those  who  have  passed  from  sin  unto 

267 


^  (fflonbdg  in  ^ofg  ^uL 

righteousness,  and  are  members  of  Christ's  mystical 
Body,  the  Church.  The  office  of  the  Paraclete  is 
not  confined  to  the  conviction  of  the  world  ;  He 
carries  forward  the  work  begun  by  Christ  in  the 
disciples,  and,  by  guiding  them  into  all  the  truth, 
He  glorifies  Christ,  and  inspires  and  directs  the 
Church. 

"  I  have  yet  many  things  to  say  unto  you,  but 
ye  cannot  bear  them  now.  Howbeit  when  He,  the 
Spirit  of  truth,  is  come.  He  will  guide  you  into 
all  truth  :  for  He  shall  not  speak  of  Himself ;  but 
whatsoever  He  shall  hear,  that  shall  He  speak  : 
and  He  will  show  you  things  to  come."  This  is 
one  of  the  most  important  passages,  one  of  the 
most  encouraging  promises,  in  the  Bible  ;  for  it 
is  upon  this  promise  that  the  Church  depends 
absolutely  as  the  teacher  of  truth.  Our  Lord  had 
laid  down  certain  principles  in  His  teaching,  but 
One  was  needed  to  guide  the  Church  in  the 
application  of  those  principles,  One  who  could 
supply  a  divine  commentary  upon  them,  applying 
them,  not  only  to  the  needs  of  individual  life,  but 
to  those  of  the  universal  Church. 

Especially  was  there  need  that  the  meaning  of 
our  Lord's  Passion  should  be  unfolded  ;  but  this 
was  not  possible  until  the  Resurrection  and  the 
Ascension    and    the    life    of    glory    which    followed 

268 


tU  l^ofg  <g^ogt  out  (guibe.  ^ 

had  made  clear  the  significance  of  the  Passion. 
It  was  the  office  of  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  the  Divine 
Paraclete,  to  reveal  this  and  other  necessary  truths 
to  the  Church.  The  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
not  to  reveal  new  truths  to  the  Church,  but  to 
develop  and  unfold,  and  make  clear  the  truths 
which  our  Lord  had  taught.  For  Christ  tells  us, 
"  He  shall  not  speak  of  Himself ;  but  whatsoever 
He  shall  hear,  that  shall  He  speak."  And  again, 
"  He  shall  take  of  Mine,  and  shall  show  it  unto 
you." 

We  have  already  treated  of  the  work  of  the 
Spirit  of  Truth  in  regard  to  the  dogmas  of  the 
Church.  Let  us  to-day  rather  dwell  upon  His 
guidance  in  the  study  of  Holy  Scripture.  We  are 
meditating  upon  Christ's  words  to-day,  as  thousands 
of  Christians  of  every  age,  since  Christ  uttered  them, 
have  meditated  upon  them.  And  it  is  a  wonderful 
thought  that  we  meditate  upon  them,  because  the 
Holy  Ghost  brings  them  home  to  us  with  ever 
new  significance,  according  to  the  needs  of  our 
age,  and  indeed  according  to  the  needs  of  each 
individual  soul. 

To  those  who  are  familiar  with  the  commentaries 
upon  Holy  Scripture  which  every  age  has  contributed 
to  the  treasures  of  the  Church,  it  is  marvellous  to 
see,    as    the    centuries    roll    by,   that    the    inspired 

269 


-^  (fflonbag  in  j^ofg  ^uL 

words  of  Holy  Writ  are  never  exhausted.  Each 
great  writer  or  Father  of  the  Cliurch  contributes 
some  beautiful  thought  which  has  come  to  him 
through  the  guiding  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  And  yet 
the  gold-mine  of  Holy  Scripture  can  still  be 
worked  for  more  treasure ;  and  indeed  one  of  the 
most  striking  discoveries  that  we  make  is  that  each 
age  finds  in  Holy  Scripture  just  the  treasure  of 
truth  which  it  needs  to  meet  the  difficulties  of  its 
own  times. 

There  are  some  who  approach  Holy  Scripture 
under  the  guidance  of  their  own  conceit,  and  apply 
to  it  merely  the  resources  of  their  own  unaided 
reason.  Some  of  these  have  come  to  the  conclusion, 
in  our  times,  that  most  of  the  Bible  is  untrue. 
But  those  who  approach  its  study,  relying  upon 
the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  find  in  it  just 
the  stores  of  truth  which  enable  them  to  meet 
their  own  difficulties,  to  grapple  with  the  problems 
of  their  own  life.  And  yet  what  they  find  is  not 
new  truth.  It  was  always  there,  waiting  to  be 
discovered  by  those  who  sought  it  under  the  Holy 
Spirit's  guidance. 

The  discovery  of  the  laws  of  electricity  and  their 
application  has  transformed  the  conditions  of  man's 
life  in  the  world  to-day,  and  has  enabled  him  to 
harness   the   forces  of   nature  to   supply  his   needs  ; 

2/0 


t^C   %0i2   <K^06t  out   ^UX'tt. 


yet  the  force  of  electricity  is  no  new  force  ;  it  has 
existed  from  the  beginning,  but  its  immense  power 
and  manifold  application  is  only  now  being  dis- 
covered by  man.  So  in  the  spiritual  world  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  guiding  us  to  the  discovery  of  new 
treasures  in  the  inexhaustible  mine  of  spiritual 
truth,  treasures  which  will  supply  the  needs  and 
meet  the  difficulties  of  our  own  times. 

''  I  have  yet  many  things  to  say  unto  you,  but 
ye  cannot  bear  them  now."  Why  not  ?  Chiefly 
for  two  reasons — because  the  Passion  without  the 
Resurrection  and  the  life  of  glory,  the  sufferings 
of  our  Lord  without  the  Holy  Ghost  to  enable 
us  to  understand  them,  would  indeed  crush  us. 
"Ye  cannot  bear  them  now."  The  word  translated 
"bear"  (8ao-ratet»/)  suggests  the  bearing  of  the  cross, 
and  none  could  bear  the  Cross  of  Christ  until  the 
gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  should  make  clear  the 
purpose  of  the  Cross.  Our  Lord  says,  "  Ye  cannot 
bear  them  now,"  and  how  soon  they  learnt  the 
truth  of  this ;  for  they  stumbled  at  our  Lord's 
Passion,  they  fell  under  that  Cross,  one  denied 
Him,  all  forsook  Him. 

We  cannot  follow  Christ  in  the  power  of  mere 
natural  courage.  The  apostles  were  not  wanting 
in  that  gift — quite  the  contrary.  S.  Peter,  when 
he  was  surrounded  by  the  soldiers  and  the  servants 

271 


^  (Utonbgg  in  j^ofg  ^uL 

of  the  High  Priest,  could  draw  his  sword  and  cut 
off  the  ear  of  Malchus,  though  he  was  but  one 
against  a  multitude.  He  was  not  wanting  then  in 
natural  courage,  and  yet  he  denied  his  Master. 
If  we  are  to  bear  the  Cross,  it  must  be  through 
the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  teaching  us  the 
relation  of  the  Cross  to  the  glories  of  eternity, 
teaching  us  the  meaning  of  the  Passion,  as 
interpreted  by  the  Resurrection,  the  Ascension, 
and  the  glorified  life  in   Heaven. 

But  our  Lord  says,  "  When  He,  the  Spirit  of 
truth,  is  come,  He  will  guide  you  into  all  truth," 
or  rather  into  all  the  truth,  for  the  words  in  the 
Greek  imply  truth  in  all  its  parts  (els  ttju  aky]6tLap 
Trda-av).  The  order  of  the  words  is  somewhat 
peculiar,  and  this  very  peculiarity  of  arrangement 
implies  that  the  Holy  Ghost  was  to  guide  them 
into  comi)lete  understanding  and  sympathy  with 
the  Truth,  Jesus  Christ  Himself. 

We  must  notice  that  the  words  are  not,  as 
translated,  "  into  all  truth,"  but  "  into  all  t/ie  truth." 
The  Holy  Ghost  was  not  to  guide  them  into 
all  truth,  in  which  might  be  included  scientific 
truth,  mathematical  truth,  and  the  laws  of  the 
physical  world,  but  into  all  the  truth,  that  is,  the 
truth  of  which  our  Lord  had  been  speaking  when 
He  said,  "  I    am    the   Truth."     Those   truths   which 

272 


t^c  l^ofg  (g^Qgt  our  (guibe.  ^ 

concern  His  kingdom  and  Person  and  work,  those 
truths  upon  the  knowledge  of  which  man's  welfare 
and  happiness  depends. 

There  is  not  the  slightest  intimation  that  if  the 
Church  should  be  foolish  enough  to  dogmatise  in 
regard  to  science  or  mathematics,  she  would  not 
make  gross  blunders,  as  the  Roman  Church  did 
in  the  time  of  Galileo,  but  there  is  the  promise 
that  where  she  is  concerned  about  the  truth  which 
is  in  Jesus,  about  God's  revelation  to  man  through 
Christ,  she  shall  be  guided  by  the  Holy  Ghost  into 
that  truth  in  all  its  parts. 

We  must  observe,  too,  the  force  of  the  word 
"guide."  "He  will  guide  you."  Christ  is  the 
Way,  and  the  Truth,  and  the  Life.  In  that  Way, 
in  that  Truth,  in  that  Life,  the  Holy  Ghost  is  the 
Guide.  And  that  way  leads  to  the  Father,  Whose 
House  is  in  Heaven,  and  Who  is  the  goal  of  every 
Christian  life.  The  Holy  Ghost  is  to  be  the  guide, 
therefore  we  are  not  mere  passive  instruments,  but 
living  agents.  Christ  does  not  say  the  Holy  Ghost 
shall  transport  you  into  all  truth,  or  compel  you  to 
believe  the  truth  ;  we  can  follow  the  Guide,  or  we 
can  refuse  to  follow.  There  is  room  left  for  the 
working  of  our  own  intellect,  for  the  exercise  of 
our  own  will.  If  we  do  not  follow  the  Guide,  it 
is  our  own  fault,  but  we  fare  not  compelled  to 
follow.  273  T 


-^  (Btonbag  in  ^ot^^  n^eeft, 

"For  He  shall  not  speak  of  Himself;  but  what- 
soever He  shall  hear,  that  shall  He  speak.  .  .  . 
He  shall  take  of  Mine,  and  shall  shew  it  unto  you." 
The  test  of  the  Holy  Ghost's  teaching  lies  in  the 
fact  that  His  teaching  is  the  perfect  expression  of 
the  one  will  of  God.  There  is  no  originality  in 
the  teaching  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  He  is  to  unfold 
God's  revelation,  but  if  people  turn  away  from 
revelation,  which  it  is  the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
to  bring  home  to  them,  and  look  to  the  Spirit 
alone  for  illumination,  they  are  likely  to  mistake 
their  own  tastes  and  their  own  prejudices  for  the 
truth.  History  shows  us  many  instances  of  those 
who  have  ignored  the  fact  that  the  work  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  not  to  speak  of  Himself,  but  to 
take  of  the  things  of  Christ,  and  show  them  to  us. 
Such  persons  have  fallen  into  all  sorts  of  error, 
and  even  absurdity,  from  the  time  of  Tertullian 
down  to  our  own  day,  while  claiming  a  special 
enlightenment  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

The  Holy  Ghost  is  the  Spirit  of  the  Father  and 
of  the  Son,  and  His  operation  is  the  operation  of 
the  one  Will  of  the  undivided  unity.  The  message 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  a  complex  message,  but  it 
is  complete.  Nothing  is  kept  back  which  is  made 
known  to  Him  in  the  order  of  divine  wisdom,  and 
the  order  of  that  wisdom    is    the  revelation  which 

274 


t^c  %oi2  (K^oet  our  (Buibe.  -«• 

is  contained  in  the  great  fact  of  the  Incarnation, 
and  its  consequences — the  Passion,  the  Church,  and 
the  Sacraments. 

'*  He  will  show  you  things  to  come."  The  Greek 
word  {ra  €px6fj.eva)  signifies  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is 
to  show  you  things  that  are  coming,  that  He  will 
reveal  to  you  the  future.  The  Holy  Ghost,  then, 
is  to  declare  unto  the  Church  the  whole  of 
Christianity,  the  constitution  and  economy  of  the 
Christian  Church  in  this  world  and  in  the  world 
to  come.  Too  often  we  confine  our  thouohts  of 
the  Christian  Church  to  the  world  in  which  we 
live,  to  the  Church  Militant,  we  forget  that  by  far 
the  greater  part  of  the  Church  now  is  in  the  world 
beyond — either  in  the  Church  Expectant,  or  already 
enjoying  the  Beatific  Vision  of  God  in  the  Church 
Triumphant.  And  Christ  tells  us  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  to  reveal  to  us  the  future,  that  is,  the 
interests  of  the  Church  in  Heaven.  And  surely 
these  interests  ought  to  be  to  us  matters  of  great 
solicitude. 

"  He  shall  glorify  Me  :  for  He  shall  receive  of 
Mine,  and  shall  show  it  unto  you."  It  is  very 
noticeable  that  the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in 
relation  to  God  the  Son  is  presented  as  parallel 
to  that  of  the  Son  in  relation  to  the  Father,  The 
Son  came  to  glorify  the  Father. — "  I  seek  not  Mine 

275 


^  (tttonbgg  in  j^ofg  TJJeeft. 

own  glory."*  The  work  of  the  Son  of  God  in 
the  world  was  then  to  glorify  His  Father,  and  the 
work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  world  is  to  glorify 
the  Son. 

"  He  shall  glorify  Me,"  and  further,  as  we  read 
in  the  opening  verses  of  the  next  chapter,  the  work 
of  the  Father  is  also  to  glorify  the  Son.  "  Father, 
the  hour  is  come,  glorify  Thy  Son,  that  Thy  Son 
also  may  glorify  Thee."t  These  passages  are  a 
striking  testimony  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy 
Trinity.  It  is  quite  impossible  to  understand  them, 
or  to  accept  them,  without  believing  in  the  doctrine 
of  the  Holy  Trinity  ;  for  they  are  both  an  exhibition 
of  the  unity  of  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  a  very  remarkable  setting  forth  of  their 
threefold  Personality.  What  the  Father  does,  the 
Son  does  ;  what  the  Son  does,  the  Holy  Ghost 
does.  The  undivided  Will,  the  undivided  operation, 
the  oneness  of  purpose,  of  substance,  is  shown  on 
the  one  side,  and  yet  there  are  three  distinct 
Persons — the  Father,  Son,  and   Holy  Ghost. 

*  S.  John  viii.  50.  f  S.  John  xvii.    I. 


276 


XXXVL 


2^ue6b(Xg  in  ^o(2  T3?eefe, 


NATURAL  AND  SPIRITUAL  SIGHT. 


S.  John  xvi.   16-19. 

"A  little  while,  and  ye  shall  not  see  Me  :  and  again,  a  little  while, 
and  ye  shall  see  Me,  because  I  go  to  the  Father.  Then  said  some 
of  His  disciples  among  themselves,  What  is  this  that  He  saith  unto  us, 
A  little  while,  and  ye  shall  not  see  Me  :  and  again,  a  little  while,  and 
ye  shall  see  Me  :  and,  Because  I  go  to  the  Father  ?  They  said  there- 
fore, What  is  this  that  He  saith,  A  little  while  ?  we  cannot  tell  what 
He  saith.  Now  Jesus  knew  that  they  were  desirous  to  ask  Him,  and 
said  unto  them.  Do  ye  enquire  among  yourselves  of  that  I  said,  A 
little  while,  and  ye  shall  not  see  Me  :  and  again,  a  little  while,  and  ye 
shall  see  Me  ?  " 


LITTLE  while,  and  ye  shall  not  see  Me." 
The  best  manuscripts  read,  "  Ye  shall  see 
Me  no  more"  (ov^eVi).  It  is  difficult  for 
English  readers  to  understand  these  words,  because, 
unfortunately,  the  translators  have  used  our  verb  "  to 

277 


'^^  Znui(X^  in  l^ofg  TJ?eeft. 

see"  to  represent  two  quite  different  verbs  with 
different  meanings  in  the  Greek.  The  first  verb 
(Oeapeire)  in  the  clause,  "  A  Uttle  while,  and  ye  shall 
not  see  Me,"  refers  to  physical  sight,  and  might  be 
better  rendered  by  the  word  "  behold."  The  noun 
derived  from  it  (ol  Beapoi)  signifies  "  the  spectators," 
those  who  look  on  and  behold  ;  so  that  this  clause 
might  be  paraphrased,  "A  little  while,  and  ye  shall 
behold  Me  no  more  with  your  physical  eyes." 

The  second  verb  (o-^fo-Be)  in  the  clause,  "  Again,  a 
little  while,  and  ye  shall  see  Me,"  signifies  also 
spiritual  sight,  spiritual  perception  or  knowledge,  so 
that  we  might  paraphrase  the  whole  passage,  "  A 
little  while,  and  ye  shall  behold  Me  no  more  with 
your  physiccd  eyes,  and  again,  a  little  while,  and  }'e 
shall  see  Me — not  with  the  eyes  of  the  body,  but 
through  the  power  of  the  Holy   Ghost." 

But  this  "  little  while,"  what  does  it  mean  ?  It 
meant  for  the  disciples,  the  period  between  our 
Lord's  Passion  and  the  Day  of  Pentecost.  During 
that  time,  they  neither  beheld  Him  with  the  eyes  of 
their  body,  nor  saw  Him  with  the  eyes  of  their  mind, 
except,  indeed,  when  He  chose  to  manifest  Himself 
to  them  on  certain  occasions  during  the  great  Forty 
Days  after  Easter.  But  when  the  Holy  Ghost  was 
come,  while  they  were  nu  longer  to  behold  Him 
physically,  they  were  to  sec  Him   more  clearly  than 

278 


they  had  ever  seen  Him  before,  with  the  eyes  of  the 
mind  illuminated  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

He  had  said  to  them,  when  speaking  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  "  Whom  the  world  cannot  receive,  because  it 
seeth  Him  not,  neither  knoweth  Him."*  Here  we 
have  the  same  word  "  behold  "  (Oecopel).  We  cannot 
behold  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  is,  we  cannot  see  Him 
with  physical  sight,  with  our  natural  eyes.  There- 
fore, as  our  Lord  said  the  world  cannot  receive  Him  ; 
for  as  a  rule,  the  world  will  only  believe  in  that 
of  which  it  can  receive  physical  demonstration. 

So  we  find  that  some  in  the  so-called  Christian 
world  speak  of  the  Holy  Ghost  as  an  "  Influence," 
but  do  not  believe  in  Him  as  a  real  Person.  Those 
who  have  the  eyes  of  their  mind  enlightened  by  the 
Holy  Ghost  are  able  to  believe  in  that  which  they 
cannot  see,  and  of  which  there  can  be  no  physical 
demonstration,  and  to  believe  with  a  conviction 
which,  in  force,  far  surpasses  the  effects  of  any  mere 
natural  knowledge. 

But  this  passage  brings  before  us  a  very  practical 
question  in  our  spiritual  life.  Christ  says,  "  Again,  a 
little  while,  and  ye  shall  see  me,"  meaning  that  after 
the  Day  of  Pentecost,  the  natural  powers  of  the  soul 
should  be  so  quickened  by  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  that  we  should  be  able  to  see  Him  through 

*  S.  John  xiv.  17. 
279 


-^  tuCBbiXT^  in  ^ofT^  Weeft. 

the  exercise  of  spiritual  vision,  even  more  clearly 
than  we  can  see  things  by  physical  sight.  And  He 
further  points  out  that  this  shall  be  accomplished  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  Who  shall.  He  says,  "  Take  of  Mine 
and  shall  shew  it  unto  you ;  "*  for  by  this  operation 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  He  comes  to  them  again, 
according  to  His  promise,  "  I  will  not  leave  you 
orphans,  I  will  come  to   you."t 

Now  we  have  to  ask  ourselves  very  seriously 
whether  we  are  exercising  this  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  whether  we  do  see  Christ  with  the  eyes  of  our 
soul,  see  Him,  that  is,  with  the  clearness  and  fulness 
which  spiritual  vision  implies.  The  Holy  Ghost,  so 
our  Lord  tells  us,  is  so  to  take  of  the  things  which 
are  His,  and  declare  them  unto  us,  that  Christ's 
Person,  Christ's  words,  Christ's  works  may  be  even 
more  clearly  comprehended  by  us  than  they  were  by 
the  disciples  who  walked  with  Him  on  earth.  Can 
we  say  that  this  is  true  of  our  experience,  that  wc 
do  see  and  know  Christ  in  this  intimate  and  close 
manner."*  If  we  do  not,  it  is  because  we  are  not 
using  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  because  we  are  not 
exercising  our  faculty  of  spiritual  perception. 

But  you  may  say,  "  How  can  I  use  this  gift,  how 
can  I  train  this  spiritual  faculty?"  In  more  ways 
than  one;  but  chiefly  in  prayer  and  meditation,  and  by 

*  S.  John  xvi.  15.  f  S.  John  xiv.  18. 

280 


prayer  I  do  not  mean  only  asking  God  to  give  us  those 
things  which  we  need,  but  telling  God  of  our  love, 
of  our  trust,  of  our  joy  in  communion  with  Him.  It 
is,  however,  in  the  exercise  of  meditation  that  we 
train  our  spiritual  perception  best — in  meditating 
upon  the  words  of  Christ  until  the  sacred  page 
seems  to  glow  under  the  light  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  the  words,  which  we  have  so  often  read,  are  seen 
to  contain  deeper  truths  than  are  manifest  on  the 
surface,  truths,  which  meet  the  needs  of  our  own 
individual  souls,  which  satisfy  the  cravings  of  our 
spiritual  nature. 

Worldly  people  find  it  impossible  to  meditate 
upon  Divine  truth  ;  impossible,  because  they  have 
never  developed  the  power  of  spiritual  vision.  They 
can  meditate,  and  do  meditate,  upon  the  things  of 
the  world,  but  they  have  so  accustomed  themselves 
to  the  mere  gas-light  of  the  world,  that  the  sunlight 
of  God's  presence  confuses  and  blinds  them,  and  in 
it  they,  therefore,  see  nothing.  Many  people  too, 
who  are  not  worldly,  find  it  difficult  to  meditate, 
because  meditation  is  a  purely  spiritual  exercise,  and 
their  spiritual  faculties  are  undeveloped. 

Again,  we  may  ask  the  question.  How  are  we 
using  the  gift  of  spiritual  sight  in  regard  to  the  Holy 
Eucharist  ?  Do  we,  as  S.  Paul  says,  discern  the 
Lord's   body   therein?      It    is   not   enough   to    say, 

281 


Of  course  I  believe  in  the  Real  Presence.  I  believe 
that  when  our  Lord  said,  "  This  is  My  Body,  This  is 
My  Blood,"  He  said  what  was  absolutely  true.  We 
may  believe  in  the  Real  Presence  of  Christ  in  the 
Holy  Eucharist,  and  yet  not  discern  His  Body  there. 
Let  us  go  on  to  ask  whether  our  belief  is  a  mere 
intellectual  assent  to  a  theological  doctrine,  which 
appeals  to  our  reason,  or  whether  it  is  a  spiritual 
power,  by  which  we  see  Jesus  Christ  in  the  Sacrament 
of  His  love. 

If  we  would  see  Him  in  meditation,  if  we  would 
discern  His  Body  in  the  Holy  Eucharist,  we  must 
train  our  spiritual  vision ;  for  spiritual  gifts,  like 
intellectual  gifts,  have  to  be  trained.  If  we  are 
going  to  study  languages,  or  literature,  or  science,  we 
train  our  intellectual  powers  in  that  special  direction. 
A  man  of  science  may  not  be  a  linguist,  not  only 
because  he  has  not,  as  we  should  say,  the  gift  of 
languages,  but  sometimes  because  he  has  never 
trained  the  gift,  which,  perhaps,  he  once  had. 

We  read  in  the  life  of  Charles  Darwin  that,  in  his 
early  days,  he  was  specially  drawn  by  religion,  and 
had  some  ideas  of  entering  the  ministry  ;  also  that  he 
was  very  fond  of  music.  However,  he  turned  all  his 
energies  in  the  direction  of  science,  and  carefully 
trained  his  mind  for  scientific  investigation.  And  in 
a  letter  that  he  wrote   in   later  life   to  a   friend,  he 

282 


remarks  that  he  has  entirely  lost  his  fondness  for 
music  ;  and  we  know  that  he  quite  gave  up  his 
religion.  It  would  probably  not  be  correct  to  say 
that  this  was  because  of  his  scientific  knowledge  ;  for 
there  are  many  great  scientists  who  are  dsvout 
Christians.  It  was  rather  because  he  allowed  the 
religious  faculty  to  become  atrophied  by  disuse, 
while  he  trained  the  faculty  of  scientific  observation 
to  its  highest  excellence. 

If  we  desire  to  see  Christ,  as  He  may  be  seen 
through  the  operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  our  souls, 
we  must  train  our  spiritual  sight  through  the  exercise 
of  prayer  and  meditation,  and  then  we  shall  realise 
a  complete  fulfilment  oi  our  Lord's  promises,  "  I  will 
come  to  you."  "  Again,  a  little  while,  and  ye  shall 
see  Me." 


283 


XXXVII. 

T3?ebne0ba5  in  %oi^  TTeeft. 


SORROW  TURNED  INTO  JOY. 


S.  John  xvi.  20-33. 

"Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  That  ye  shall  weep  and  lament, 
but  the  world  shall  rejoice  :  and  ye  shall  be  sorrowful,  but  your  sorrow 
shall  be  turned  into  joy.  A  woman  when  she  is  in  travail  hath 
sorrow,  because  her  hour  is  come  :  but  as  soon  as  she  is  delivered  of 
the  child,  she  remembereth  no  more  the  anguish,  for  joy  that  a  man  is 
born  into  the  world.  And  ye  now  therefore  have  sorrow  :  but  I  will 
see  you  again,  and  your  heart  shall  rejoice,  and  your  joy  no  man 
taketh  from  you.  And  in  that  day  ye  shall  ask  Me  nothing.  Verily, 
verily,  I  say  unto  you.  Whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  the  Father  in  My 
Name,  He  will  give  it  you.  Hitherto  have  ye  asked  nothing  in  My 
Name  :  ask,  and  ye  shall  receive,  that  your  joy  may  be  full.  These 
things  have  I  spoken  unto  you  in  proverbs :  but  the  time  cometh, 
when  I  shall  no  more  speak  unto  you  in  proverbs,  but  I  shall  shew 
you  plainly  of  the  Father.  At  that  day  ye  shall  ask  in  My  Name  : 
and  I  say  not  unto  you,  that  I  will  pray  the  Father  for  you  :  For  the 
Father  Himself  lovcth  you,  because  yc  have  loved  Me,  and  have 
believed  that  I  came  out  from  God.  I  came  forth  from  the  Father, 
and  am  come  into  the  world  :  again,  I  leave  the  world,  and  go  to  the 
Father.     His  disciples  said  unto  Him,  Lo,  now  speakcst  Thou  plainly, 

284 


gotten?  Znrncb  info  3og.  ^ 

and  speakest  no  proverb.  Now  are  we  sure  that  Thou  knowest  all 
things,  and  needest  not  that  any  man  should  ask  Thee :  by  this  we 
believe  that  Thou  earnest  forth  from  God.  Jesus  answered  them,  Do 
ye  now  believe  ?  Behold,  the  hour  cometh,  yea,  is  now  come,  that  ye 
shall  be  scattered,  every  man  to  his  own,  and  shall  leave  Me  alone  : 
and  yet  I  am  not  alone,  because  the  Father  is  with  Me.  These  things 
I  have  spoken  unto  you,  that  in  Me  ye  might  have  peace.  In  the 
world  ye  shall  have  tribulation :  but  be  of  good  cheer ;  I  have  over- 
come the  world." 


E  shall  weep  and  lament,  but  the  world  shall 
rejoice."  This,  of  course,  refers  primarily 
to  the  sorrow  of  the  Apostles  at  their 
Master's  death,  and  to  the  joy  of  the  world  at  the 
accomplishment  of  its  wicked  purpose.  But  in 
foretelling  the  sorrow  that  should  come  upon  them, 
Christ  also  indicates  the  ultimate  consequence  of 
that  sorrow — that  it  should  be  turned  into  joy — 
and  He  illustrates  this  from  the  sorrows  of  a  woman 
in  travail. 

While  the  joy  to  which  our  Lord  refers  was,  in 
the  case  of  the  Apostles,  to  issue  from  Christ's 
Resurrection  and  the  life  of  power  which  should 
follow  it,  yet  His  promise  is  not  exhausted  by  this 
fulfilment ;  for,  as  in  so  many  of  our  Lord's  utter- 
ances, we  may  trace  the  revelation  of  a  great 
principle,  that  all  sorrow,  which  is  not  caused 
directly  by  our  own  sin,  is  the  raw  material,  so 
to  speak,  of  future  joy,  if  it  be  borne  rightly,  and  in 

285 


-o^  HTebnegbag  in  ^ofg  TTeel 

reliance  upon  the  Holy  Ghost.  This,  of  course,  does 
not  refer  to  the  selfish  sorrow  of  the  world,  but  to 
those  sorrows  of  the  Christian  life  which  come  to  us 
with  God's  permission,  as  disciplines  and  trials,  to 
prepare  us  for  the  joys  of  Heaven. 

Indeed,  it  is  perhaps  not  too  much  to  say  that 
sorrow  is  one  of  the  most  precious  things  we  have 
in  this  world,  developing,  as  it  does,  sympathy  and 
love  for  one  another,  faith  and  trust  in  God.  The 
joys  of  this  life  are  enhanced  by  the  background  of 
difficulty  and  suffering-,  out  of  which  they  emerge, 
and  the  joys  of  Heaven  on  their  negative  side  will 
be  largely  the  consciousness  of  freedom  from  the 
disappointments  and  dangers  of  the  world. 

The  joy  of  pardoned  sin  in  this  life  can  be 
measured  by  the  depth  of  sorrow,  which  our  peni- 
tence produces  in  us,  as  the  Psalmist  teaches  in  that 
verse,  "They  that  sow  in  tears  shall  reap  in  joy."* 
The  harvest  of  joy  seems  here  to  be  proportioned  to 
the  tears  that  are  sown,  and  so  we  find  among  the 
joys  of  God's  people  in  Heaven  that  "  God  shall 
wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes."t 

"  And  your  joy  no  man  taketh  from  you."  What 
a  glorious  promise.  We  know  something  of  the  joys 
of  earth,  of  the  world,  of  the  intoxicating  joys  of 
pleasure,  of  worldly  success  ;  and  wc  know,  not  as  a 

*   Psalm  cxxvi.   6.  f   Revelations  xxi.  4. 

286 


^otxoro  Zuxnci  into  3og.  ^ 


matter  of  faith,  but  of  absolute  experience,  that  these 
joys  do  not  last.  They  are  taken  from  us,  and  what 
is  left  behind  is  generally  the  bitter  sting  of  remorse 
in  remembrance  of  the  very  joy  which  seemed  at  the 
moment  so  transporting.  But  the  joy  of  which  our 
Lord  speaks,  the  joy  which  is  the  fruit  of  godly 
sorrow,  this  joy  abides,  for  no  man  can  take  it  from 
us. 

"  In  that  day  ye  shall  ask  Me  nothing."  That  is, 
no  question  ;  for  all  will  then  be  clear.  They  would 
not  need  their  Master's  guidance  then,  for  they 
would  have  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  Who 
should  lead  them  into  all  truth. 

"  Whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  the  Father  in  My  Name, 
He  will  give  it  you.  Hitherto  ye  have  ask  nothing 
in  My  Name  :  ask,  and  ye  shall  receive,  that  your 
joy  may  be  full."  Here  we  have  another  repetition 
of  the  promise  of  special  power  in  prayer,  as 
the  result  of  our  Lord's  intercession  in  Heaven, 
and  of  the  intercession  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in 
the  human  soul.  A  special  efficacy  is  attached  to 
the  prayers  of  those  who  are  in  union  with  Christ, 
and  especially  to  the  prayers  of  those  who  have 
tasted  the  cup  of  sorrow.  "  A  broken  and  contrite 
heart,  O  God,  shalt  Thou  not  despise."* 

"  These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you  in  proverbs  ; 

*   Psalm  li.   17. 
287 


^  nrebnegbdg  in  j^ofg  TTeeft. 

but  the  time  cometh,  when  I  shall  no  more  speak 
unto  you  in  proverbs,  but  I  shall  show  you  plainly  of 
the  Father."  Christ  had  taught  them  under  images 
and  parables,  under  the  image  of  the  vine,  under  the 
parable  of  the  woman  in  travail.  Now  the  Holy 
Ghost  was  to  unfold  these  images,  and  through  Him 
Christ  was  to  speak  plainly,  and  to  declare  clearly, 
the  relations  of  God  the  Father  to  man. 

"  At  that  day  ye  shall  ask  in  My  Name :  and  I 
say  not  unto  you,  that  I  will  pray  the  Father  for 
you  ;  for  the  Father  Himself  loveth  you,  because  ye 
have  loved  Me,  and  have  believed  that  I  came  out 
from  God."  "At  that  day."  The  day,  that  is,  when 
we  possess  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  act  in  His  strength 
and  see  by  His  light.  In  that  day  the  fulness  of 
knowledge  will  lead  to  the  fulness  of  prayer,  and  our 
new  relationship  as  sons  by  adoption,  will  constitute 
us  in  a  special  sense  the  objects  of  God's  love. 

"  I  say  not  unto  you,  that  I  will  pray  the  Father 
for  you  "  ;  (as  though  you  had  no  direct  claim  upon 
the  Father,  and  it  was  necessary  that  I  should  plead 
for  you  ;)  ''  for  the  Father  Himself  loveth  you,  because 
ye  have  loved  Me."  The  result  of  our  incorporation 
into  Christ  through  the  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
making  us  members  of  Christ  and  children  of  God,  is 
freedom  of  access  to  the  Father  through  Jesus 
Christ,  and   a  special  claim    upon   God's   love;  God 

288 


borrow  ^urneb  into  ^og.  ^ 


becomes  our  Father  in  a  new  sense,  and  loves  us 
with  a  Father's  love,  and  this  must  be  a  great 
encouragement  to  us  in  prayer. 

If  we  were  to  dwell  a  little  more  upon  God's  love 
for  us,  and  worry  ourselves  less  about  our  love  for 
God,  it  would  often  be  better  for  us  in  our  spiritual 
life.  Many  persons  complain,  "  My  heart  is  so  cold, 
I  cannot  love  God.  I  want  to  love  Him,  but  I  am 
not  able.  What  can  I  do  ? "  The  answer  is  that 
all  do  not  love  God  in  the  same  way,  and  that  there 
is  a  very  real  love  of  God,  which  does  not  produce 
any  sensible  emotion  in  our  heart,  that  our  Lord 
made  the  evidence  of  love  to  consist  in  keeping 
God's  commandments,  not  in  feeling  deep  emotion. 

But  you  ask,  "  What  can  I  do  .'*  "  Meditate  upon 
God's  love  for  you  in  creating  you,  in  sending  His 
Son  to  die  for  you,  in  watching  over  you  through  all 
the  vicissitudes  of  life,  in  vouchsafing  to  you  a 
knowledge  of  the  Catholic  Faith,  in  sending  you 
many  calls  to  repentance,  in  bestowing  upon  you 
privileges  and  gifts  without  number.  Meditate  upon 
God's  love  for  you  ;  that  will  help  you  to  love  God 
better.  For  love  begets  love.  Many  a  person  has 
learned  to  love  another  by  learning  how  great  was 
that  other  person's  love  for  him  or  her.  Dwell  upon 
God's  love  for  you  ;  realise  that,  as  incorporated  into 
Christ,  you  are  the  object  of  God's  love.     Remember 

289  u 


^^ 


TJ?ebne6bag  in  ^o{^  T3?eeft. 


that  you  did  not  first  love  God,  but  that  He  loved 
you.*  Dwell  upon  this  and  it  will  cause  your  love 
for  God  to  burn  up,  and  fill  your  heart  and  life  with 
love. 

"  I  came  forth  from  the  Father,  and  am  come  into 
the  world.  Again,  I  leave  the  world,  and  go  to 
the  Father."  In  this  passage  we  may  notice  in 
passing  our  Lord's  clear  assertion  of  His  unity  of 
essence  with  the  Father. 

"  His  disciples  said  unto  Him,  Lo,  now  speakest 
Thou  plainly,  and  speakest  no  proverb.  Now  are  we 
sure  that  Thou  knowest  all  things,  and  needest  not 
that  any  man  should  ask  Thee :  by  this  we  believe 
that  Thou  camest  forth  from  God."  This  was  the 
supreme  confession  of  their  faith  before  the  Passion, 
and  how  was  it  elicited,  to  what  may  it  be  traced  ? 
"  Now  are  we  sure  that  Thou  knowest  all  things,  and 
needest  not  that  any  man  should  ask  Thee."  Christ 
had  interpreted  their  thoughts.  They  had  been 
saying  to  one  another,  "  What  is  this  that  He  saith 
unto  us  ?  A  little  while,  and  ye  shall  not  see  Me : 
and  again,  a  little  while,  and  ye  shall  see  Me." 
Christ,  Who  had  not  heard  their  discussion,  read 
their  thoughts  and  answered  them,  "  Do  ye  enquire 
among  yourselves  of  that  I  said,  A  little  while,  and 
yc  shall  not  see  Me  :  and  again,  a  little  while,  and  ye 

*   C/    I  S.  John  iv.  lo. 

290 


^oxxoro  Zuxncb  into  3og.  ^ 

shall  see  Me  ?  "  It  was  because  our  Lord  read  their 
thoughts  and  hearts  that  they  were  ready  to  confess 
that  He  came  forth  from  God,  for  God  alone  can  read 
the  thoughts  and  hearts  of  men. 

Christ's  last  words  to  them  in  these  discourses  are, 
"  Do  ye  now  believe  ?  Behold,  the  hour  cometh,  yea, 
is  now  come,  that  ye  shall  be  scattered  every  man  to 
his  own,  and  shall  leave  Me  alone :  and  yet  I  am 
not  alone  because  the  Father  is  with  me.  These 
things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  that  in  Me  ye  might 
have  peace.  In  the  world  ye  shall  have  tribulation  : 
but  be  of  good  cheer ;  I  have  overcome  the  world." 
In  these  words  our  Lord  accepts  their  act  of  faith. 
"  Do  ye  now  believe  ?  "  He  means  to  say,  "  Yes,  you 
do  believe  with  all  the  power  of  your  natural  heart, 
but  you  have  not  yet  received  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
so  your  faith  has  a  weakness  which  belongs  to  all 
natural  faith,  and  then  He  clearly  points  out  four 
things : — 

(i)  Their  desertion  of  Him,  the  temporary  failure 
of  their  faith.  "  Behold,  the  hour  cometh,  yea,  is 
now  come,  that  ye  shall  be  scattered,  every  man  to 
his  own,  and  shall  leave  Me  alone."  (2)  Then,  lest 
that  revelation  should  overwhelm  them  with  dis- 
couragement, He  tells  of  their  ultimate  triumph, 
"  These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  that  in  Me 
ye  might  have  peace."     Their  failure  will  be  only  for 

291 


n3?ebne6bag  in  l^ofg  ^ctL 

a  little  while.  He  will  rise  again,  and  having  won 
by  His  death  and  resurrection  the  great  victory  over 
evil,  He  will  come  to  them  again  on  Easter  Day 
with  the  gift  of  peace — His  peace ;  that  is,  the 
peace  of  those  who  possess  Him,  and  who,  in  that 
possession,  can  face  all  the  struggles  of  life  with  a 
courage  born  of  the  assurance  of  ultimate  victory. 

(3)  But  lest  they  should  misunderstand  the 
character  of  this  peace  which  He  would  give  them, 
He  warns  them,  saying  unto  them,  "  In  the  world  ye 
shall  have  tribulation."  That  is,  although  in  the 
possession  of  peace  and  the  assurance  of  victory, 
yet  so  long  as  they  were  in  this  world,  there  must  be 
struggle  and  sorrow. 

(4)  But,  He  says,  "  Be  of  good  cheer ;  I  have 
overcome  the  world."  And  because  I  have  over- 
come it,  when  the  Holy  Spirit  brings  to  you  the 
power  and  grace  which  I  have  promised  you,  ye 
shall  overcome  it  also.  "  Be  of  good  cheer,"  for 
though,  in  the  world,  tribulation  be  your  lot,  the 
victory  is  secure.  Abide  in  Me,  and  I  will  abide 
in  you,  and  as  I  have  overcome  the  world,  ye  too 
shall  overcome  it. 


292 


XXXVIII. 


THE    FATHER   AND    THE    SON. 


S.  John  xvii.    1-5. 

"  These  words  spake  Jesus,  and  lifted  up  His  eyes  to  Heaven,  and 
said,  Father,  the  hour  is  come  ;  glorify  Thy  Son,  that  Thy  Son  also 
may  glorify  Thee  :  As  Thou  hast  given  Him  power  over  all  flesh,  that 
He  should  give  eternal  life  to  as  many  as  Thou  hast  given  Him.  And 
this  is  life  eternal,  that  they  might  know  Thee  the  only  true  God,  and 
Jesus  Christ,  Whom  Thou  hast  sent.  I  have  glorified  Thee  on  the 
.earth :  I  have  finished  the  work  which  Thou  gavest  Me  to  do.  And 
now,  O  Father,  glorify  Thou  Me  with  Thine  own  Self  with  the  glory 
which  I  had  with  Thee  before  the  world  was." 

HIS  chapter  stands  absolutely  alone  and 
unapproachable  in  Holy  Writ ;  for  it  con- 
tains our  Lord's  High  Priestly  prayer, 
or,  as  it  may  be  termed,  His  prayer  of  self-con- 
secration. This  prayer  is  indeed  sublime ;  for 
in    it    we    are    permitted    to    know    something   of 

293 


^  (^dunbdj  ^^utBbdg. 


the  communion  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  with 
His  Father.  We  see  His  two  natures,  human 
and  divine,  so  blended  in  one  consciousness  that, 
while  preserving  and  displaying  the  prerogatives 
of  both,  we  behold  them  united  under  the  one 
Person  of  the  Son  of  God. 

We  are  often  told  that  our  Lord  prayed,  but 
never  so  fully  as  here  what  He  said  to  the 
Father  in  His  prayers.  Now  we  have  revealed 
to  us  in  this  chapter  the  very  words  of  the 
great  prayer  of  self-consecration,  which  our  Lord 
uttered  before  He  entered  Gethsemane  and  His 
Passion  began. 

The  prayer  seems  to  have  been  uttered  at  mid- 
night in  the  courts  of  the  Temple.  This  point 
we  have  already  discussed.*  And  that  it  was 
spoken  aloud  in  the  hearing  of  the  disciples  is 
evident  both  from  the  fact  that  S.  John  reports 
what  our  Lord  said,  and  also  because  we  read 
(in  verse  13),  "These  things  I  speak  in  the  world, 
that  they  might  have  My  joy  fulfilled  in  them- 
selves." 

The  chapter  begins  with  the  passage,  "  These 
words  spake  Jesus,  and  lifted  up  His  eyes  to 
Heaven,  and  said."  "  These  words "  refer  to  the 
discourses    upon    which    we    have    been    meditating 

*  Page  154. 

294 


throughout  this  Lent.  The  prayer  which  follows 
the  discourses  falls  into  three  very  clear  divisions, 
bringing  before  us  (i)  The  relation  of  the  Son 
to  the  Father  (vv.  1-5) ;  (2)  The  relation  of  the 
Son  to  the  disciples  (vv.  6-19) ;  (3)  The  relation 
of  the  Son  to  His  Church  throughout  all  time 
(vv.  20-25). 

The  clause,  "  He  lifted  up  His  eyes  to  Heaven," 
which  in  the  Greek  is  connected  with  the  verb 
"  Said,"  marks  the  new  region  to  which  our  Lord's 
thoughts  are  turned,  His  sense  of  perfect  fellow- 
ship with  the  spiritual  world.  As  in  the  Seven 
Words  from  the  Cross,  the  first  three  are  spoken 
to  man,  and  the  last  four  addressed  to  His 
Father ;  so  here,  our  Lord  having  uttered  these 
long  discourses,  in  which  He  gives  His  final 
instructions  to  His  disciples,  turns  away  from  the 
things  of  earth,  and  addresses  Himself  in  prayer 
to  His  Father  in  Heaven,  allowing  His  disciples, 
for  their  comfort  and  edification,  to  hear  what  He 
says.  The  first  word  of  the  prayer  is  "  Father," 
and  it  is  the  keynote  of  the  first  division  of  the 
prayer,  which  treats  of  the  relation  of  the  Son 
to  the  Father.  We  may  notice  that  the  prayer 
is  not  directly  personal.  Christ  does  not  say 
"glorify  Me,"  but  "glorify  Thy  Son." 

"  Father,   the   hour   is  come."      It    is    worthy    of 

295 


^  (Utdimbag  €^ur6bag. 


notice  that  in  no  fewer  than  six  passages  S. 
John  refers  to  our  Lord's  "hour."  S.  John  reveals 
to  us  a  conception  of  our  Lord's  life  and  work 
in  which  all  things  are  in  accordance  with  the 
Father's  Will  and  rigidly  ordered  as  to  time  by 
that  Will.  At  the  Marriage  of  Cana  of  Galilee, 
when  His  mother  says  to  Him,  "  They  have  no 
wine,"  Jesus  replies,  **  Mine  hour  is  not  yet 
come."*  Twice  we  are  told  that  His  enemies 
sought  to  take  Him,  but  that  '*  no  man  laid  hands 
upon  Him,  because  His  hour  was  not  yet  come."t 
Again  we  read  that  before  the  Feast  of  the 
Passover,  "Jesus  knew  that  His  hour  was  come.":}: 
To  His  Apostles  our  Lord  says,  "The  hour  is  come 
that  the  Son  of  Man  should  be  glorified. "§  And 
lastly,  in  His  High  Priestly  prayer.  He  begins 
with  the  words,  "  Father,  the  hour  is  come  ;  glorify 
Thy  Son." 

Nothing  can  be  more  clear  from  this  than  that 
Christ  recognised  God's  Will,  God's  providence,  as 
ruling  precisely  the  order  of  His  life.  But  not 
only  has  our  Lord  His  hour,  we  have  ours.  God's 
providence  orders  our  life,  we  cannot  hurry  things, 
we  must  wait  till  our  hour  is  come  ;  wait,  praying 
that,    wlicn    it    does    come,    we     may    rcco;^nisc    it 

*  S.  John  ii.  4.  t  'S.  John  vii.  30;  viii    20.  j  S.  John  xiii.  i. 

§  S.  John  xii.  23. 

296 


and  seize  the  opportunity.  How  often  we  beat 
our  wings,  as  it  were,  in  vain  against  the  prison 
bars,  longing  for  the  door  to  open  ;  but  we  have 
to  learn  that  the  door  of  opportunity  does  not 
open  till  the  moment  ordered  by  God's  Will. 

We,  who  this  Lent  have  been  following  Jesus 
Christ,  must  learn  from  Him  this  lesson  before 
we  go  any  further,  that  we  must  be  patient  and 
wait  till  our  hour  comes,  that  we  cannot  be 
saints  at  once,  cannot  conquer  all  our  temptations 
in  one  battle,  cannot  accomplish  all  the  work 
that  God  has  for  us  to  do  by  one  effort,  we 
must  be  patient,  but  we  must  also  be  watchful, 
that  when  the  hour  does  come,  it  may  find  us 
ready  to  act. 

"  Father,  glorify  Thy  Son,  that  Thy  Son  also 
may  glorify  Thee."  This  glorifying  of  the  Son 
is  the  fuller  manifestation  of  His  true  nature 
seen  in  the  fact  of  His  victory  over  death, 
and  established  by  His  Resurrection  and  Ascen- 
sion. ''Glorify  Thy  Son."  How  we  shrink  from 
suffering,  and  yet  it  is  the  only  path  to  glory  ; 
for  "  If  we  suffer,  we  shall    also  reign  with    Him."* 

Death,  how  dreadful  it  seems,  and  yet  it  is 
the  gate  which  opens  into  the  realms  of  glory. 
So  Christ,  standing  upon  the  threshold  of  death — that 

*  2  Tim.  ii.  12. 
297 


'^  (ttlaunbag  ^^urebog. 


death,  the  issue  of  which  was  to  be  eternal  life 
for  us  all— says,  "  Glorify  Thy  Son  ; "  for  "  the 
hour  is  come."  How  easy  it  is  for  us  to  say 
it,  how  difficult  to  realise  it,  that  only  through 
death  can  we  pass  to  our  true  life.  If  we  could 
make  this  world  as  happy  as  Heaven,  we  should 
not  want  the  eternal  life  of  Heaven. 

This  world  is  but  the  waiting-place.  All  tears 
and  sorrows  will  end  with  the  joy  of  serving 
Christ  and  with  the  sunshine  of  His  Presence. 
For  when  death  comes  to  those  who  have  been 
waiting  with  full  trust  in  Christ,  waiting  and 
working  for  Him,  it  will  be  but  the  opening  of 
the  prison  door  by  which  they  pass  into  the 
glories  of  His  Kingdom.  Our  Blessed  Lord,  after 
His  Resurrection,  told  S.  Peter  by  what  manner 
of  death  He  should  die,  and  S.  John's  comment  on 
this  is,  "This  spake  He,  signifying  by  what  death 
He  should  glorify  God." 

"  As  Thou  hast  given  Him  power  over  all  flesh." 
The  word  translated  "  power "  (e^ovaiav)  signifies 
rather  authority,  and  the  verb  is  in  the  aorist, 
{f8a>Kai,)  so  that  a  more  accurate  rendering  would  be 
'*even  as  Thou  gavest  Him  authority  over  all 
flesh."  The  term  "all  flesh"  describes  mankind  in 
its  solidarity.  Christ,  as  the  Incarnate  Son  of 
God,    exercises   legitimate   authority    over    all    man- 

298 


kind,  as  its  true  Head  and  Representative  now 
reigning  at  the  Right  Hand  of  God.  As  the  Son 
of  Man,  the  second  Adam,  the  representative  Man, 
Christ  is  the  sum  of  humanity,  and,  therefore, 
has  authority  and  sovereignty  over  it. 

"  Even  as  Thou  gavest  Him  authority  over  all 
flesh,  that  He  should  give  eternal  life  to  as  many 
as  Thou  hast  given  Him."  The  words  translated 
"  as  many  as  Thou  hast  given  Him "  are,  in  their 
original  form,  very  remarkable.*  Literally  it  is 
that  "  the  whole  of  that  which  Thou  hast  given 
Him,  to  them  should  He  give  eternal  life."  And 
we  have  a  contrast  between  "all  flesh"  over 
which  He  has  authority,  and  all  "  given  Him," 
that  is,  all  the  elect,  who  are  drawn  to  Him  by 
the  Father,  to  whom  He  gives  eternal  life.  For 
only  those  can  come  to  Him  whom  the  Father 
draws,  and  to  these,  who  accept  Him,  He  gives 
eternal  life,  and  what  this  eternal  life  is,  He 
explains  in  the  next  verse. 

"And  this  is  (the)  life  eternal,  that  they  might 
know  Thee,  the  only  true  God,  and  Jesus  Christ, 
Whom  Thou  hast  sent."  (Literally,  "that  they  know 
Thee  and  Whom  Thou  didst  send.")  We  learn 
from  this  verse,  first  that  eternal  life  is  the  gift 
of  Christ,   it    cannot   be    obtained    otherwise ;   and 

*    nau  6  debcoKas  a.vT(o, 
299 


secondly,  that  it  consists  in  a  knowledge  of  the 
Father,  the  only  true  God,  Who  is  manifested 
and  revealed  by  Christ  and  in  Christ. 

Here  knowledge  implies  the  apprehension  of 
truth  by  the  whole  nature  of  man.  We  may 
know  a  great  deal  about  God  by  studying  reve- 
lation and  theology,  but  that  is  not  "the  eternal 
life."  The  eternal  life  is  a  personal  knowledge 
of  God,  which  involves  not  only  an  intellectual 
apprehension  and  moral  conviction,  but  the  action 
of  the  whole  nature  upon  that  conviction,  the  appro- 
priation of  the  knowledge  so  that  it  influences  the 
whole  life.  This  is  the  eternal  life — to  know  God 
and  Jesus  Christ ;  for  you  cannot  know  God  with- 
out knowing  His  Son,  Jesus  Christ,  Who  reveals 
Him. 

"I  have  glorified  Thee  on  the  earth ;  I  have 
finished  the  work  which  Thou  gavest  Me  to  do." 
The  first  two  tenses  are  aorists  {€56^a(Ta,  reXacoo-af),  so 
that  the  translation  should  be,  "  I  glorified  Thee 
on  earth,  having  accomplished  the  work."  The 
accomplishment  of  this  work  was  the  means  by 
which  Christ  glorified  the  Father.  But  what  was 
this  work  which  the  Father  gave  Him  to  do,  and 
which  He  here  claims  to  have  accomplished?  It 
was  a  life  of  unswerving  obedience,  of  perfect 
love,    which    made    His    Death    meritorious.     There 

300 


have  been  theologians  in  the  past,  who  have 
looked  upon  the  sacrifice  of  our  Lord's  death  as 
an  isolated  act,  as  though  it  was  the  mere  fact 
of  His  dying  which  redeemed  the  world. 

Our  Lord's  sacrifice,  however,  was  not  only  the 
act  of  death,  but  the  sacrifice  of  the  perfect  life 
which  culminated  in  death.  It  was  the  offering 
of  the  life  of  One  Who  had  never  disobeyed  one 
of  God's  laws,  never  faltered  in  fulfilling  one  of 
His  Father's  commands,  never  swerved  from  the 
path  of  Divine  Love.  It  was  this  which  made 
the  Life,  offered  on  the  Cross  through  death, 
efficacious  for  taking  away  the  sins  of  the  whole 
world.  The  life  of  love  issued  in  the  Hfe  of 
obedience,  which  was  the  consequence  and  evidence 
of  His  love.  The  Passion  and  Death  were  the 
climax  of  this  obedience,  and  they  are  here  spoken 
of  as  though  already  accomplished,  because  they 
were  then  accepted.  The  perfect  Life  was  finished, 
the  perfect  work  was  done,  and  Christ  stood,  as 
it  were,  before  the  altar  on  which  He  was  to  be 
offered  as  a  sacrifice. 

There  is,  however,  another  point  brought  before 
us  in  this  passage — a  point  of  great  importance, 
though  sometimes  overlooked.  It  is  the  entire 
absence  of  any  sense  of  failure  on  the  part  of  our 
Lord   in   regard   to    His   work;     He   says,  "  I   have 

301 


-^  (ttlaunbdg  2^^ut6bag. 


finished,"  or,  rather,  "  I  have  accomplished  (reXftwo-af) 
the  work  which  Thou  gavest  Me  to  do."  And  on 
the  Cross,  just  before   He  died.  He  again  said,  "  It 

is    finished  "    (rereXeorai).* 

Throughout  our  Lord's  life  we  see  the  same  con- 
sciousness of  absolute  power,  the  conviction  that 
His  work  was  progressing  steadily  to  its  appointed 
end.  And  yet,  looked  at  from  a  mere  human  point 
of  view,  it  seemed  to  be  a  failure,  for  all  His  disciples 
deserted  Him  and  fled,  and  He  was  condemned 
to  death.  Humanly  speaking,  our  Lord's  life  ended 
in  failure,  and  yet,  never  for  one  moment,  even  in 
His  darkest  hour,  did  He  utter  one  word  which 
implied  that  His  work  was  anything  but  a  success. 

And  this  consciousness  of  success  amid  apparent 
failure  is,  in  itself,  an  indication  of  His  Divinity, 
for  no  mere  man  could  have  said  to  the  Father, 
"  I  have  accomplished  the  work  which  Thou  gavest 
Me  to  do."  S.  Paul,  when  his  life  was  drawing 
to  a  close,  writing  from  his  prison  in  Rome  to 
S.  Timothy,  says,  "  I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered, 
and  the  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand.  I  have 
fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course, 
I  have  kept  the  faith."t  He  says,  "  I  have  finished 
my  course^'  not  I  have  finished  my  work.  "  I  have 
fought  the  good  fight,  I   have  kept  the   faith."     He 

•  S.   John  xix.  30.  f  2  Timothy  iv.  6,  7. 

302 


could  be  thankful  for  what  he  had  accomplished 
through  the  grace  of  God,  but  he  was  conscious 
of  many  failures  in  his  work.  Only  Christ  could 
say,  "  I  have  finished  the  work  which  Thou  gavest 
Me  to  do." 

Throughout  this  chapter  the  pronoun  "  I "  is 
emphatic,  and  who  is  the  "  I "  ?  There  can  be  no 
doubt  from  the  next  verse,  "  And  now,  O  Father, 
glorify  Thou  Me  with  Thine  own  Self  with  the 
glory  which  I  had  with  Thee  before  the  world 
was."  In  these  words  our  Lord  claims,  as  He 
does  again  in  the  twenty-fourth  verse,  to  have  lived 
with  God  before  the  world  came  into  being,  claims 
eternal  Sonship,  claims  to  have  possessed  a  glory 
which  He  laid  aside  when  He  became  Man,  and 
which,  now  that  His  work  is  accomplished.  He 
is  to  reassume. 


303 


XXXIX. 


THE  SON  AND  THE  DISCIPLES. 


S.  John  xvii.  6-19. 

"  I  have  manifested  Thy  Name  unto  the  men  which  Thou  gavest 
Me  out  of  the  world  :  Thine  they  were,  and  Thou  gavest  them  Me  ; 
and  they  have  kept  Thy  word.  Now  they  have  known  that  all  things 
whatsoever  Thou  hast  given  Me  are  of  Thee.  For  I  have  given  unto 
them  the  words  which  Thou  gavest  Me  ;  and  they  have  received  them, 
and  have  known  surely  that  I  came  out  from  Thee,  and  they  have 
believed  that  Thou  didst  send  Me.  I  pray  for  them  ;  I  pray  not  for 
the  world,  but  for  them  which  Thou  hast  given  Me  ;  for  they  are 
Thine.  And  all  Mine  are  Thine,  and  Thine  are  Mine  ;  and  I  am 
glorified  in  thcni.  And  now  I  am  no  more  in  the  world,  but  these  are 
in  the  world,  and  I  come  to  Thee.  Holy  Father,  keej:)  through  Thine 
own  Name  those  whom  Thou  hast  given  Me,  that  they  may  be  one, 
as  We  are.  While  I  was  with  them  in  the  world,  I  kept  them  in  Thy 
Name  :  those  that  Thou  gavest  Me  I  have  kept,  and  none  of  them  is 
lost,  but  the  son  of  perdition  ;  that  the  scripture  might  be  fulfilled. 
And  now  I  come  to  Thee  ;  and  these  things  I  speak  in  the  world,  that 
they  might  have  My  joy  fulfilled  in  themselves.  I  have  given  them 
Thy  word  ;  and  the  world  hath  hated  them,  because  they  are  not  of 
the  world,   even  as   I  am  not  uf   the  world.      I   pray  not  that  Thou 


shouldest  take  them  out  of  the  world,  but  that  Thou  shouldest  keep 
them  from  the  evil.  They  are  not  of  the  world,  even  as  I  am  not  of 
the  world.  Sanctify  them  through  Thy  truth  :  Thy  word  is  truth. 
As  Thou  hast  sent  Me  into  the  world,  even  so  have  I  also  sent  them 
into  the  world.  And  for  their  sakes  I  sanctify  Myself,  that  they  also 
might  be  sanctified  through  the  truth." 

HAVE  manifested  Thy  Name  unto  the 
men  which  Thou  gavest  Me  out  of  the 
world  :  Thine  they  were,  and  Thou  gavest 
them  Me;  and  they  have  kept  Thy  word."  Here 
the  prayer  passes  into  a  new  channel,  and  as  our 
Lord  had  prayed  for  Himself,  so  now  He  prays  for 
His  disciples.  The  petition  ''glorify  Me"  becomes 
"  sanctify  them "  and  "  keep  them."  In  this  first 
verse  we  may  notice  a  threefold  declaration  :  (i)  Of 
the  relation  of  the  disciples  to  Christ ;  (2)  of  their 
relation  to  the  Father ;  and  (3)  of  their  own  intrinsic 
worth.  And  each  of  these  statements  is  a  plea  in 
favour  of  the  petitions  which  follow,  and  together 
with  them  make  a  portrait  of  a  true  disciple. 

First  Christ  says  of  them,  "  I  have  manifested  Thy 
Name  unto  the  men  whom  Thou  gavest  Me  out  of 
the  world."  The  Father  must  draw  them  (out  of 
the  world)  to  Christ ;  for  our  Lord  said,  "  No  man 
can  come  to  Me,  except  the  Father,  which  hath 
sent  Me,  draw  Him."* 

*  S.  John  vi.  44. 

305  X 


^  (&oob  :§'rtba8» 


"  I  have  manifested  Thy  Name."  What  Name  ? 
We,  who  have  been  studying  our  Lord's  last 
discourses  this  Lent,  can  have  no  hesitation  in 
answering  this  question  ;  for  we  must  have  been 
struck  by  the  fact  that  the  one  absorbing  subject 
of  the  addresses  is  the  revelation  to  the  disciples, 
and  through  the  disciples  to  the  world,  of  God  as 
t/ie  FatJier.  The  Name  which  Christ  manifested 
to  them  was  the  name  "  Father." 

In  the  Old  Testament  God  revealed  Himself  to 
His  people  under  various  names,  the  greatest  of 
which  was  Jehovah,  the  Self-existent  One,  The 
revelation  of  God  under  the  Name  Jehovah  to  the 
Israelites  was  an  immense  advance  in  their  know- 
ledge of  God  ;  for  they  learned  that  He  was  not 
only  their  Creator,  but  that  He  was  Himself 
Underived  and  Self-existent.  In  the  New  Testa- 
ment, however,  the  advance  in  the  knowledge  of 
God  is  enormous  when  Christ  reveals  Him  as  the 
Father.  The  Father,  that  is,  of  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Son  of  God,  and  of  all  those  who,  by  incorporation 
into  Christ,  have  become  His  sons  by  adoption. 
From  the  philosophic  conception  of  God  as 
Underived  and  Self-existent,  we  pass  to  the  tender 
and  comforting  revelation  of  God  as  "  Our  Father, 
Which  art  in   Heaven." 

In    this    first    declaration,    then,    Christ    manifests 

306 


their  relation  to  Himself,  in  the  next  He  shows 
their  relation  to  the  Father.  "  Thine  they  were, 
and  Thou  gavest  them  Me."  They  belonged  to 
God,  not  merely  as  His  creatures,  like  the  rest  of 
mankind ;  not  merely  as  Israelites,  like  the  rest 
of  their  race,  but  as  Israelites  indeed,  who  responded 
to  God  ;  and  because  they  belonged  to  Him  in  a 
special  sense  through  this  response,  they  were  given 
to  His  Son. 

But,  thirdly,  our  Lord  reveals  something  of  their 
own  intrinsic  worth,  when  He  says,  "  And  they  have 
kept  Thy  word.  What  word  ?  The  whole  revelation 
of  Christ  which  we  include  under  the  name  of  the 
Gospel.  They  not  merely  heard  this  Gospel  as 
others  did,  but  they  kep^  it.  In  the  Parable  of 
the  Sower  we  are  told  of  the  seed  falling  on  various 
kinds  of  ground,  some  by  the  wayside,  some  upon 
rock,  some  among  thorns,  but  some  upon  good 
ground  ;  and  we  read,  "  That  on  the  good  ground 
are  they,  which  in  an  honest  and  good  heart,  having 
heard  the  word,  keep  it,  and  bring  forth  fruit  with 
patience."*  These  keep  the  word  of  God  as  our 
Lord  declares  the  Apostles  had  kept  it. 

"  Now  they  have  known  that  all  things  whatsoever 
Thou  hast  given  Me  are  of  Thee.  For  I  have  given 
unto  them  the  words  which  Thou  gavest  Me ;  and 

*  S.  Luke  viii.  15. 


^^• 


(Koob  Stiixxg. 


they  have  received  them,  and  have  known  surely 
that  I  came  out  from  Thee,  and  they  have  believed 
that  thou  didst  send  Me."  All  careful  students  of 
S.  John's  Gospel  must  have  observed  his  habit  of 
using  certain  emphatic  words  to  emphasise  the  point 
of  his  argument.  There  are  three  such  words  in 
this  passage,  which  together  bring  out  the  character- 
istics of  faithfulness  in  the  Apostles.  They  are  the 
words  "  received,"  "  known,"  and  "  believed."  They 
received  the  words,  that  is,  the  revelation  which 
Christ  gave  them  ;  and  they  came  to  know  {^yvoiaav)  by 
personal  experience,  and  therefore  with  certainty, 
that  I  catne  out  from  Thee,  and  therefore  believed 
that  Thou  didst  send  Me.  The  characteristics 
of  the  disciples  are  gathered  up  under  two  heads 
of  knowledge  and  faith,  both  alike  directed  to 
the  recognition  of  Christ  and   His  Mission. 

"  I  pray  for  them  ;  I  pray  not  for  the  world,  but 
for  them  which  Thou  hast  given  Me  ;  for  they  are 
Thine.  And  all  Mine  are  Thine,  and  Thine  are 
Mine  ;  and  I  am  glorified  in  them."  I  am  praying 
for  them  ;  the  verb  is  in  the  present  tense,  and  the 
"  I  "  is  emphatic.  I  am  not  praying  for  the  world. 
The  exclusion  of  the  world  from  this  particular 
prayer  of  Christ's  is  no  limitation  of  the  extent  of 
His  love  for  the  world,  but  is  the  necessary  conse- 
quence of  the  circumstance  of  the  prayer.     At  this 

308 


€^c  ^on  dnb  t^e  ©t6Ctpfe6.  ^ 


moment  He  is  interceding  exclusively  for  those  who 
have  been  prepared  by  Him  beforehand  to  continue 
His  work.  Later  in  the  prayer  He  does  pray  for 
others,  for  those  who  should  be  brought  to  know 
Hiin  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  Apostles. 

When  He  says,  "  I  am  praying  for  them  ;  I  am 
not  praying  for  the  world,"  it  does  not  mean  at  all 
that  the  salvation  of  the  world  is  not  dear  to  His 
heart,  and  ever  in  His  thoughts  ;  for  on  the  Cross 
His  arms  were  wide  stretched  for  three  longr  hours 
in  intercession  for  the  world.  But  here  the  inter- 
cession is  for  His  disciples,  and  the  declaration  of 
the  grounds  upon  which  His  prayer  is  urged,  is 
followed  by  a  statement  of  the  circumstances  which 
make  it  necessary. 

Christ  leaves  the  world,  but  the  Apostles  still 
remain.  The  Master  must  be  separated  from  His 
scholars,  for  Christ  goes  to  the  Father,  and  so  enters 
upon  a  new  sphere  of  His  mediatorial  work  in 
which  His  mode  of  action  shall  be  changed  ;  and 
so  He  prays,  "  Holy  Father,  keep  through  (in)  Thine 
own  Name  those  whom  Thou  hast  given  Me,  that 
they  may  be  one,  as  We  are."  The  correct  reading 
here  is  "Keep  in  Thine  own  Name."  Christ  had 
already  said  I  have  manifested  Thy  Name  of  Father 
to  them,  now  keep  them  in  that  Holy  Name,  keep 
them    in    its    power,    help    them    to    realise    what 

309 


^  (Boob  5^fib<xg. 

is  implied  in  Thy  Fatherhood,  that  they  may  be 
one,  as  We  are.  That  is,  that  as  children  of  the 
same  Father,  they  may  be  like  brethren  who  dwell 
together  in  unity. 

"  While  I  was  with  them  in  the  world,  I  kept 
them  in  Thy  Name.  Those  that  Thou  gavest  Me 
I  have  kept,  and  none  of  them  is  lost,  but  the 
son  of  perdition  ;  that  the  scripture  might  be 
fulfilled."  The  two  words  translated  "kept"  in 
this  passage  are  not  exactly  the  same,  the  second 
signifying  rather  to  keep  watch  over,  to  guard 
(e(/)vXa^a).  While  He  was  with  them,  our  Lord 
preserved  them  and  watched  over  them  ;  now  that 
He  is  leaving  them  He  asks  His  Father  to  take 
them  under  His  care." 

"  And  now  I  come  to  Thee  ;  and  these  things  I 
speak  in  the  world,  that  they  might  have  my  joy 
fulfilled  in  themselves.  I  have  given  them  Thy 
word  ;  and  the  world  hath  hated  them,  because  they 
are  not  of  the  world,  even  as  I  am  not  of  the  world." 
In  the  clause  "  these  things  I  speak  in  the  world  "  we 
find  additional  evidence  for  the  fact,  implied  by  S. 
John's  record  of  this  prayer,  that  it  was  spoken  aloud 
for  the  encouragement  and  edification  of  the  disciples 
that  they  might  draw  strength  and  joy  from  the 
words  which  they  heard  ;  for  they  heard  their  Master 
interceding  for  them,  and  committing  them  to  the 
care  of  His  Father.  310 


t^c  ^on  (Xni  it}t  ^xmipiu.  ^ 

Then  our  Lord  goes  on  to  repeat,  what  He  had 
already  told  them,  that  the  world  should  hate  them 
because  they  were  not  of  the  world,  and  He  makes 
this  a  plea  that  His  Father  should  keep  them  and 
preserve  them  from  the  world.  Because  Christ's 
followers  are  not  of  the  world,  their  lives  are  a 
reproach  to  the  world  ;  the  world's  laws,  the  world's 
maxims,  the  world's  fashions,  and  the  world's  ambitions, 
all  are  untrue  ;  and  because  the  Christian's  life  wit- 
nesses against  these  things,  it  is  a  reproach  to  the 
world,  and  awakens  the  world's  hatred. 

But  Christ  goes  on  to  say,  "  I  pray  not  that  Thou 
shouldest  take  them  out  of  the  world,  but  that  Thou 
shouldest  keep  them  from  the  evil."  We  must 
remember  here  that  the  word  translated  "pray" 
(epcurw),  as  in  the  fourteenth  chapter,  is  used 
exclusively  of  our  Lord's  prayers  to  the  Father,  and 
might  perhaps  be  better  rendered  by  "  ask,"  inasmuch 
as  it  implies  fellowship  and  equality  with  the  Father, 
rather  than  the  inferiority  of  the  suppliant. 

Our  Lord  prays  not  that  they  should  be  taken  out 
of  the  world,  for  then  what  hope  would  there  be  for 
the  world  ?  Their  presence  in  the  world  was  to  be 
the  leaven  which  was  to  leaven  the  world,  the  salt 
which  was  to  preserve  the  world  from  corruption,  the 
light  set  upon  a  hill  to  disperse  the  darkness,  and  to 
attract   to   it  all    that  was   good  in  the  world.     So 

311 


^^  (Boob  iS'ribag. 

Christ  says,  "  I  pray  not  that  Thou  shouldest  take 
them  out  of  the  world,  but  that  Thou  shouldest 
keep  them  from  the  evil."  There  is  little  question 
but  that  the  correct  translation  is  "  Keep  them  from 
the  Evil  One,"  the  devil,  who  is  the  prince  of  the 
world. 

Then  comes  the  central  petition  of  the  prayer. 
"  Sanctify  them  through  Thy  truth :  Thy  word  is 
truth,"  and  this  is  repeated  in  the  nineteenth  verse, 
"  For  their  sakes  I  sanctify  Myself,  that  they  also 
might  be  sanctified  through  the  truth."  The  word 
"  sanctify "  in  these  passages  means  to  consecrate, 
and  the  instrument,  as  we  see,  by  which  the  con- 
secration is  to  be  effected  is  truth. 

This  suggests  to  us  in  a  very  striking  manner  the 
real  end  and  purpose  of  truth.  If  you  were  to  ask 
a  man  of  the  world  what  was  the  purpose  of  truth, 
he  would  probably  say  that  the  end  or  purpose  of 
truth  was  wisdom,  that  man  investigates  truth,  in 
order  that  by  its  acquisition  he  may  become  wise. 
But  if  we  were  to  ask  the  Christian,  who  has  studied 
Christ's  words,  he  will  tell  you  that  the  end  of  truth 
is  not  wisdom,  but  holiness,  sanctification  ;  that  the 
purpose  of  the  investigation  of  truth  is  the 
development  of  character. 

By  truth  here,  of  course,  we  do  not  mean  merely 
investigating  the  secrets  of  nature  or  the  principles 

312 


of  mathematics.  A  man  may  have  discovered 
wonderful  truths  in  the  sphere  of  natural  science,  or 
made  great  progress  in  the  study  of  mathematics, 
and  this  may  be  of  use  to  him  in  his  work  in  the 
world  ;  but  it  will  not  affect  his  character  in  the 
slightest  degree.  The  truth  of  which  our  Lord  is 
speaking,  is  a  truth  which  manifests  its  effects  in  the 
sanctification  of  life  and  in  the  development  of 
character.  "  Sanctify  them  through  Thy  truth." 
This  is  the  central  petition  of  this  section  of  the 
prayer.  As  Christ  had  prayed  for  Himself,  "  Father, 
glorify  Thy  Son,"  so  He  prays  for  the  disciples, 
"  Sanctify  them  through  Thy  truth." 

"  As  Thou  hast  sent  Me  into  the  world,  even  so 
have  I  also  sent  them  into  the  world."  Their  mission 
was  to  be  the  same  as  His.  They  were  to  carry  on 
His  work.  For  their  sakes  Christ  says,  "  I  consecrate 
Myself,  and  this  consecration  was  to  be  effected  by 
His  sacrifice  on  the  Cross.  The  disciples  too  were  to 
be  consecrated  through  a  knowledge  of  God's  truth, 
which  knowledge  should  lead  them  to  follow  Christ's 
example  in  consecrating  themselves  through  sacrifice, 
that  they  might  carry  on   His  work  in  the  world. 


313 


XL. 


THE  SON  AND  THE  CHURCH. 


S.   John  xvii.  20-26. 

"  Neither  pray  I  for  these  alone,  but  for  them  also  which  shall 
believe  on  Me  through  their  word  ;  That  they  all  may  be  one  ;  as 
Thou,  Father,  art  in  Me,  and  I  in  Thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one  in 
Us :  that  the  world  may  believe  that  Thou  hast  sent  Me.  And  the 
glory  which  Thou  gavest  Me  I  have  given  them  ;  that  they  may  be 
one,  even  as  We  are  One  :  I  in  them,  and  Thou  in  Me,  that  they  may 
be  made  perfect  in  one  ;  and  that  the  world  may  know  that  Thou  hast 
sent  Me,  and  hast  loved  them,  as  Thou  hast  loved  Me.  Father,  I  will 
that  they  also,  whom  Thou  hast  given  Me,  be  with  Me  where  I  am ; 
that  they  may  behold  My  glory,  which  Thou  hast  given  Me  :  for 
Thou  lovedst  Me  before  the  foundation  of  the  world.  O  righteous 
Father,  the  world  hath  not  known  Thee  :  but  I  have  known  Thee, 
and  these  have  known  that  Thou  hast  sent  Me.  And  I  have  declared 
unto  them  Thy  Name,  and  will  declare  it :  that  the  love  wherewith 
Thou  hast  loved  Me  may  be  in  them,  and  I  in  them." 


N  each  of  the  three  divisions  of  our  Lord's 
High  Priestly    prayer,  there    is    a    central 
petition  which   is,  as  it  were,  the   keynote 
to  that  part  of  the   prayer.     As    we    have  seen,   in 

314 


the  first  division  it  was,  "  Father,  glorify  Thy  Son  ;  " 
in  the  second,  "  Sanctify  them  through  Thy  truth." 
In  the  third  we  shall  observe  not  less  clearly  that 
it  is  the  prayer,  "  That  they  all  may  be  one,"  and  this 
petition  is  repeated  again  and  again  four  times.  The 
prayer  began  with  the  concerns  of  Christ  Himself, 
then  passed  to  the  special  needs  of  His  immediate 
disciples,  and  is  now  extended  to  embrace  all  those 
who,  by  the  .labours  of  the  apostles,  shall  be  brought 
into  the  body  of  Christ ;  for  these  last  verses  are 
our  Lord's  great  intercession  for  His  Church. 

He  prays  first  for  the  unity  of  the  Church,  "  That 
they  all  may  be  one  ;  as  Thou,  Father,  art  in  Me, 
and  I  in  Thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one  in  Us : 
that  the  world  may  believe  that  Thou  hast  sent  Me." 
And  this  is  repeated  in  the  next  verse.  Surely  this 
prayer  for  unity,  so  dear  to  our  Lord's  heart,  ought 
to  be  precious  to  the  heart  of  every  Christian.  Even 
though  for  many  centuries  the  unity  of  the  Church 
has  been  broken,  and  there  may  now  seem  little 
prospect  of  any  immediate  answer  to  that  prayer,  yet 
we  must  go  on  praying  it. 

In  the  Liturgy  of  the  Western  Church,  the  Prayer 
for  Unity  is  one  of  the  three  prayers  which  the  priest 
says  immediately  before  his  own  Communion. 

"O  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Who  saidst  unto  Thine  Apostles,  Peace  I 
leave  with  you,  My  Peace  I  give  unto  you  ;  regard  not  my  sins,  but 


-^  i^ofg  ^aturbag. 


the  faith  of  Thy  Church  ;  and  grant  her  that  peace  and  unity  wliich 
is  agreeable  to  Thy  will,  Who  livest  and  reignest  God  for  ever  and 
ever.     Amen." 

This  prayer  has  been  adopted  by  the  Society  for  the 
Promotion  of  tlie  Unity  of  Christendom,  as  the 
prayer  to  be  said  daily  by  its  members. 

Our  Blessed  Lord  not  only  prays  for  the  unity 
of  His  Church,  but  indicates  one  great  result  of  that 
unity.  "  That  the  world  may  believe  that  Thou  hast 
sent  Me."  There  is  probably  nothing  which  so  hinders 
Christian  work  as  the  divisions  and  want  of  unity 
which  are  manifest  among  Christians  themselves. 
When  there  is  so  much  quarrelling  and  fighting 
amongst  ourselves,  how  can  we  commend  our  cause 
to  those  who  are  not  Christians,  but  whom  we  wish 
to  win  to  Christ  .'*  If  we  are  to  convert  the  world, 
we  must  begin  by  striving  for  greater  unity  among 
the  divided  Churches  of  Christendom.  And  yet 
much  as  we  desire  union,  earnestly  as  we  ought  to 
pray  for  it,  we  must  not  be  willing  to  gain  it  at 
the  expense  of  truth,  or  as  the  result  of  the  com- 
promise of  truth. 

There  is  a  plan  of  union  which  some  people  of  our 
own  day  propose,  which  would  be  quite  disastrous  to 
truth.  It  is  that  everyone  should  give  up  that  which 
others  object  to,  so  that  a  residuum  would  be  left, 
upon  which  all  could  unite.      This  residuum  however 

316 


would  not  be  the  truth  which  our  Lord  handed  down 
to  His  Apostles.  A  better  way  to  work  for  unity  is 
to  try  to  understand  one  another's  position,  to  be 
willing  to  listen  to  other  people's  explanations  of 
their  views,  and  to  approach  the  study  of  their 
position  in  a  spirit  of  charity,  earnestly  striving  to 
lay  aside  our  own  prejudices,  and  asking  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  guide  us  into  the  truth. 

We  should  find  probably  that  a  very  large  number 
of  the  differences  which  exist  between  Christians, 
and  which  lead  to  bitter  controversy,  are  differences 
in  regard  to  "  terms "  far  more  than  in  regard  to 
"  things."  People  associate  with  certain  theological 
terms,  doctrines  which  they  rightly  reject,  and  yet 
very  often  theologians  do  not  use  those  terms  at  all 
in  the  sense  in  which  their  adversaries  understand 
them.  A  real  desire  to  understand  one  another,  and 
to  arrive  at  the  truth,  together  with  charity  and 
earnest  prayer,  will  do  more  to  prepare  the  way  for 
unity   than  either  controversy  or  compromise. 

"Father,  I  will  that  they  also,  whom  Thou  hast 
given  Me,  be  with  Me  where  I  am  ;  that  they  may 
behold  My  glory,  which  Thou  hast  given  Me  :  for 
Thou  lovedst  Me  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world."  Having  prayed  for  the  unity  of  His  Church, 
Christ  asks  two  things — (i)  That  those  who  have 
been  given  Him,  the  Elect,  may  be  with  Him  where 

317 


^^ 


J^ofg  ^aturbajj. 


He  is,  that  is,  in  His  kingdom  in  Heaven  ;  and  (2) 
That  they  may  behold  His  glory,  and  in  beholding 
it  may  be  partakers  of  that  glory.  This,  of  course, 
refers  to  the  future  of  His  Church  in  eternity,  when 
all  who  have  fought  a  good  fight  in  the  Church 
Militant,  shall  have  attained  to  the  glories  of  the 
Church  Triumphant  in  Heaven. 

He  prays  that  they  may  be  where  He  is,  and  to 
be  with  Christ  is  Heaven.  The  penitent  robber 
upon  the  Cross  said,  "  Lord,  remember  Me,  when 
Thou  comest  into  Thy  Kingdom,"  and  Christ 
answered,  *'  Verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  to-day  shalt 
thou  be  with  Me  in  Paradise."  That  day  our  Lord 
went  into  the  Intermediate  State  with  the  penitent 
thief,  but  His  presence  there  transformed  it  into 
Heaven,  into  Paradise. 

Since  His  Ascension,  Christ's  glorified  Humanity  is 
present  nowhere  except  at  the  Right  Hand  of  God  ; 
so  that  at  that  time  Heaven  became  Paradise.  For 
S.  John  in  his  vision  of  heaven  speaks  of  the  "  tree 
of  life,  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  Paradise  of 
God,"*  of  which  those,  who  overcome  in  the  battle 
of  life,  are  to  eat  as  their  reward  ;  and  by  this  he 
certainly  means  Heaven,  not  the  Intermediate  State. 
And  again  S.  Paul  tells  us  that  he  was  "  caught  up 
to  the  third    Heaven,"  and  "  that  he  was  caught  up 

*   Revelations  ii.   7. 

3i« 


into  Paradise,"*  by  which  he  certainly  does  not  mean 
that  he  went  to  the  place  of  departed  spirits,  but 
that  he  was  caught  up,  as  he  says,  into  Heaven 
itself. 

From  these  passages  it  is  clear  that  in  the 
Bible,  Paradise  is  "  to  be  with  Christ,"  that  before 
His  Ascension,  during  the  brief  space  in  which  He 
was  with  the  departed  spirits  in  Hades,  He  trans- 
formed Hades  into  Paradise  ;  for  where  He  is  there 
is  Paradise  ;  but  that  after  His  Ascension,  Paradise 
and  Heaven  are  synonymous.  This,  too,  is  the 
teaching  of  the  early  Fathers  of  the  Church,  from 
Tertullianf  to  S.  Gregory. 

"  O  righteous  Father,  the  world  hath  (did)  not 
known  Thee ;  but  I  have  known  (knew)  Thee,  and 
these  have  known  (knew)  that  Thou  hast  (didst)  sent 
Me.  And  I  (have)  declared  unto  them  Thy  Name, 
and  will  declare  it ;  that  the  love  wherewith  Thou 
hast  (didst)  loved  Me,  may  be  in  them  and  I  in 
them."  These  are  the  last  words  of  this  sublime 
prayer.  Six  times  we  find  in  it  the  Name  "  Father." 
So  the  prayer  begins,  so  it  ends,  and  by  the  addition 

*  2  Corinthians  xii.  2  and  4. 

t  Tertullian  is  sometimes  quoted  on  the  other  side,  since  he  uses  the 
term  "  Paradise  "  to  describe  the  abode  of  the  martyrs.  But  he 
explicitly  excludes  from  his  Paradise  all  other  souls,  and  identifies 
Paradise  with  the  altar  in  heaven,  under  which  S.  John  saw  the  souls 
of  the  martyrs.     Rev.  vi.  9. 


of  the  word  "  righteous,"  our  Lord  appeals  to  the 
justice  of  God,  for  the  word  "  righteous  "  means  just. 

He  sums  up  the  principal  thoughts  not  only  of 
His  prayer,  but  of  the  discourses,  in  three  state- 
ments : — (i)  The  world's  ignorance  of  God  as 
contrasted  with  the  disciples'  knowledge  of  Him. 
(2)  Christ's  work  in  declaring  or  making  known  to 
them  God's  Name  of  Father.  And  (3)  the  purpose 
of  the  revelation  of  that  Name,  that  they  may  possess 
divine  charity.  "  That  the  love  wherewith  Thou 
lovedst   Me  may  be  in  them  and  I  in  them." 

Throughout  these  chapters  the  antiphon  has  been 
love.  The  discourse  begins  with  it,  *'  A  new 
commandment  give  I  unto  you,  that  ye  love  one 
another."*  And  as  it  begins  so  it  ends.  "  I  declared 
unto  them  Thy  Name  .  .  .  that  the  love  wherewith 
Thou  lovedst  Me,  may  be  in  them  and  I  in  them." 
Ignorance  of  God  renders  this  love  impossible.  We 
must  know  God,  and  know  Him  as  the  Father  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  therefore  our  Father  in 
Heaven,  if  we  are  to  love  Him  as  we  should.  This 
is  the  purpose  of  our  Lord's  revelation,  that  we  may 
know  God  as  our  Father,  may  love  Him  as  His 
children,  and  that  Christ  may  dwell  in  us. 

LAUS    DEO. 

*  S.   John  xiii.  34. 


Jarrold  and  Sons,  Ltd.,  Printers,   The  Empire  Press,  Norwich, 


Date  Due 

My  2  7  '4] 

...  . 

ff'/4-  'ii 

JV.V 

■  ,;  1 

AP  9    '^"j 

i'lf     7      5^ 

FEU  *    *^ 

"IN  11111-"^ 

in 

^ymiM 

IWk 

^ 

